


The Perils of Dimension Hopping

by thatdamnuchiha



Series: In the Company of Elves [6]
Category: Naruto, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: And very very confused, Angst, Because They're Lost, Because that's basically what they become, Bree - Freeform, Canon Era, De-aging, Dimension Travel, Elfling, Elfling Madara, Elfling Sakura, Elflings, Fluff, Haruno Sakura is So Done, Haruno Sakura-centric, Journey to Rivendell, Madara and Sakura Stick to Frodo Like Glue, Middle Earth, Mokuton, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, Other, POV Haruno Sakura, Prancing Pony, Protective Siblings, Protective Uchiha Madara, Rivendell | Imladris, Sibling Bonding, Sign Language, The One Ring - Freeform, Well aside from the two elflings tagging along with Frodo, hidden identities, vaguely canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2020-09-28 22:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20433725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatdamnuchiha/pseuds/thatdamnuchiha
Summary: Being dragged into a different dimension while in the middle of a war isn’t the thing Sakura had in mind – so obviously she grabbed onto something to try and stop herself from falling down the rabbit hole.It didn’t work.Plus the thing she happened to grab onto was a person who came along for the ride. Too bad that person happened to be one Uchiha Madara.





	1. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Author's Note:**

> This little plotbunny crept up on me after 'Finding Family' and it won't let me go T_T
> 
> Anyway, enjoy.

Sakura had always loved nature. It spoke to her – as in _literally _spoke to her. She’d always been able to hear the voices of trees, and she loved the slow songs they sang when waking to the sunlight. They were ancient, right down to their roots, and they whispered to her of happenings long past. It was part of the reason she loved history, and not just the history of shinobi that was taught at the academy. The wood on her desk whispered to her too, distracting her whenever she was in class, telling her of students long gone, whispers of a boy with bright yellow hair and how he’d adored a redhead. It also mentioned that their progeny was in her class and told her what he held deep inside him. Nobody ever seemed to notice it, but the wood was always watching, even if it had no eyes with which to see things. Wood kept secrets. Secrets it told Sakura. It warned her of bad men, of blank white masks who would come and snatch her away if they knew what she was capable of… if they knew the true depth of her knowledge and secrets shared between them.

She kept her head down, careful not to reveal anything, even if it meant she had to break off her budding friendship with the Yamanaka Heir. Ino could easily go into her mind, and most likely pick up on her body language if she stuck too close by for too long. Rivalry was easier with her, so rivalry it was. Over a boy of all things. She could safely admit he was cute, but the wood had whispered to her about how harsh a shinobi’s life could be. There was no time to worry about romance. Not when she was just starting off on the path. _Perhaps later, _she told herself, keeping her physical scores low, and her test scores high. _Let them write you off as a paper ninja, _the trees whispered, making her chuckle. Paper came from trees, and she had an affinity for those.

In hindsight, she really shouldn’t have been so surprised when Kakashi tested their elemental affinities shortly after their graduation. Not when she’d had an affinity for nature since her birth. She held the paper in one hand, blinking as it crumbled to dirt.

“An earth affinity,” Kakashi said, nodding quietly at her, Sasuke’s lightning and Naruto’s wind affinities taking up more of his attention. She wouldn’t deny the small strum of jealously which flickered through her.

_Try again, _the trees whispered, _your other hand and then both._

“Kakashi-sensei, could I have two more slips?” she asked, her eyes pleading with him silently until he relented, turning his back on her as he focused on his two other students.

She held the paper in her other hand, sending chakra shooting through it, blinking as it collapsed in a soggy heap.

“Ne, ne, Sakura-chan has two affinities?” Naruto peered over at her, eyes shining.

Kakashi turned to her, curiosity written across his face. Even Sasuke looked intrigued – if slightly jealous with his sole lightning affinity. Sakura resisted the urge to sneer like he always did to her. “Earth and water?” He tilted his head. “Congratulations, Sakura-chan… not many shinobi have two affinities right off the bat…”

_You’re not done yet, _the trees murmured, and Sakura clenched the final sheet between both hands, her chakra surging forwards. Paper swirled, brown bark replacing white paper, reaching up and branching out as the miniature tree formed in her hands.

She grinned, teeth bared. “How’s that, Kakashi-sensei?”

He swallowed, looking at her wide eyed along with Sasuke. Naruto merely blinked blankly. “Ne, sensei… why are you looking at the tree like that?”

“Dobe, that’s mokuton!” Sasuke hissed, elbowing him sharply.

“Mokuton?”

“How thick can you get?” the Uchiha grumbled, sighing deeply. “The First Hokage is the only other person who’s had that bloodline ability!”

“Oh, so Sakura-chan is kinda awesome?” Naruto grinned. “That’s so cool!”

It wasn’t _that_ cool though.

Not with the amount of DNA and other kinds of tests she was put through.

She wasn’t related to any Senju, so it was a mystery as to where her mokuton came from. They’d tested her DNA extensively, but there were no clues as to where her affinity with nature came from. Animals loved her, the Nara Forests welcomed her, and birds sang whenever she walked by. It was wonderful, even if none of her teammates seemed to appreciate the beauty of it. Nobody else seemed to. It made her feel different – special like she’d always wanted to be – but different wasn’t always the best thing to be. She felt disjointed. Disconnected.

_Like she was an anomaly… like she wasn’t supposed to be there._

It was only made that much more obvious once the war began. Hard dried out dirt became grassy under her feet, flowers blooming wherever she walked, and if she was completely honest, it got in the way. Her companions agreed, silently pleading with her to turn it off, but there was no stopping it. Something was building inside her. She just didn’t know what.

So she ignored the warning signs. She ignored the instincts drilled into her over her four short years of her shinobi career. _A fatal mistake. _Though it wasn’t as fatal as it could’ve been.

Madara had just been revived, his eyes had crumbled, and she saw her opening. A gap in his iron tight guard. It was a risk, a leap of faith of sorts, and Sakura took it. _She wasn’t just the designated medic of the team. She was that and so much more. _It was just unfortunate it wasn’t only her thinking that. _She probably would’ve just been happy with being the medic otherwise._

_“You who doesn’t belong… I think it’s time you came home…”_

The voice that rang out was both unexpected and frightening – not least because it echoed in everyone’s minds. Ground crumbled under her feet for the first time in her life, her eyes widening as she realised just who the voice was referring to. _How could she not? _She yelped, arms latching blindly onto the nearest object for support, before that too gave way.

“SAKURA-CHAN!” Naruto’s shout came too late, as did his attempted rescue. She fell down through the earth, the darkness almost instantly consuming her sight before she realised that whatever she was still blindly clutching onto as she descended was most definitely warm and most definitely human.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the light of the surface growing ever further away, and before she could even think about doing something to stop her descent, her eyes slammed shut, blissful sleep claiming her in an instant, and Sakura knew no more.

* * *

Birdsong woke her.

It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, up until the war had begun. Then the birds had to be quiet around her, else risking her being discovered by the enemy and taken just like Yamato-sensei. Sakura rolled over – or attempted to. Her legs were stuck, something hard and unyielding wrapped around them, and her eyes snapped open. _Had she been caught by the enemy? _She stared down at her legs, trapped in the roots of a tree. It was like they’d grown around her whilst she’d slept, but that was impossible. She hadn’t asked the trees to grow, nor had she slept long enough for the tree to grow naturally. She was fairly sure she’d have died of old age by then if that’d been the case.

Birds sounded again, chirping in their nests, and Sakura blinked once again. _Where was she? _She didn’t recognise her surroundings in the slightest, and the trees were different. They didn’t sing the same way the trees she remembered did, and it wasn’t because they were a different species. They felt older, infinitely more wiser, and that much more unyielding.

Sakura swallowed, gently tugging her legs free from the ancient roots, not wanting to disturb the resting trees from their sleep. The destruction of their roots would do just that. “Right,” she mumbled, her voice musical and ringing like a bell, the unfamiliar syllables flowing from her tongue. They were foreign, and yet so familiar. “Stay calm… figure out the situation,” she reminded herself, all of Kakashi’s teachings flooding her brain. Though she doubted he thought they’d ever be used for a situation quite like this one.

She stood soundlessly, blinking at the shortness. _Were the trees bigger? _she mused, tilting her head, stepping forwards with one chakra coated foot – _stealth was important when in an unknown land _– only to freeze in horror when she realised something.

Her chakra was gone.

Not muted, sealed, or unable to be used. It was gone. Ripped out. Like it had never existed. In its place was something completely different. A light in her core. One that refused to budge an inch under her clumsy, frantic grasp.

“Not good…” she muttered, summing up her situation in an instant. “Dammit.”

Rustling in the bushes had her spinning around to face the incoming threat, hands curling into fists no matter how weak her blows would be without chakra. _She wasn’t useless though, and if it turned out to be an enemy coming towards her, she’d beat them up as best she could. _Her eyes narrowed, coughing breaking her silence as long strands of pink hair slapped into her face in the building wind. Sakura didn’t like this. She didn’t like it one bit.

Rather than any sort of dangerous enemy though, it was a boy who stepped out of the nearby bushes, dark grey eyes fixed on her own. They looked like storm clouds, and there were slight bags underneath his bright eyes. He wore a black high collared shirt, his pants a dark brown, his spiky black hair reaching his waist. _He looked oddly familiar, _she realised with a start, but she’d never seen the kid before. He couldn’t have been more than eight years old, and there’d been no children that young in the war.

“You,” he spat, and Sakura flinched at the venom lining his voice. “You’re that pink-haired medic, aren’t you?”

She blinked in confusion. _How did he know about that? _“What’s it to you?” she fired back, folding her arms as she glared stoutly at him. Sakura didn’t like him one bit, and she was fairly sure the feelings were mutual, if the answering glare was anything to go by.

“You’re the one who dragged me along with you.”

She blinked again, freezing as she remembered grabbing onto something when she started falling. That something had been human-shaped, and warm. She swallowed. “I didn’t grab onto some kid,” she said, stumbling away from him.

“Are you really that thick?” he asked, a mocking drawl in his voice… and it was very familiar… it almost reminded her of her Uchiha teammate, but this child was no Sasuke. He didn’t look like anyone familiar, at least not from her childhood.

“Don’t call me that!” she hissed, her hands curling into fists. She really wanted to hit him. Preferably somewhere it’d hurt, even without her chakra augmented strength.

“But you are,” he said simply. “You couldn’t even recognise me – Uchiha Madara.”

Sakura blinked yet again, a snort escaping her lips as she stared at the child. “You-You’re—pfft—Uchiha Madara?” she asked, sniggering even as she realised he was exactly who he’d said he was. He’d just been shrunk. The scourge of the Five Elemental Nations had been shrunk and forced into the body of a child. She pointed a finger at him, cackling gleefully. “You’re a child!”

He merely folded his arms, eyebrows raised sceptically, walking up until he was standing right in front of her, and Sakura had the most horrible dawning realisation. “At least I’m not an immature toddler,” he said, staring down at her.

She was shorter than him. Shorter than their greatest enemy who looked about eight years old. Her eyes flickered down to her hands and feet, finally noting how tiny they were. Baby fat clung to her wrists, her hands still slightly pudgy, and she knew her face was far more round and squishy than it ought to be. Madara proved that much by grabbing said cheeks and pinching them as his glare only darkened.

“But since you’re the only clue I have as to how we ended up here, then I guess I’ll have to bear with an annoying toddler,” he said, smirking at her disgruntled expression. “Come on.”

Sakura slapped at his hands. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

Madara pinched the bridge of his nose. “You haven’t got a choice in the matter,” he said, grabbing her wrist instead. “Now, are you going to walk, or do I have to carry you?”

She stomped her foot, scowling at how little damage it did to the ground. “I’d like to see you try!”

He did, and he did so very successfully, not that there was much of her to lift.


	2. Disagreements and Fights

She lost count of the amount of screaming they both did at each other, determined not to be the losers of their little shouting match in the middle of nowhere. They were lost, cold, and they both had tempers to match. When it all boiled down, Sakura had no desire to wander around with Madara – the man behind the war her shishou and the other kage were desperately trying to stop – and Madara had no desire to put up with all her complaints or her snarky little comments about his methods and motivations for his grand scheme.

“Sure thing, Mr-I-Want-Peace-So-I-Started-A-War,” Sakura growled, squirming frantically from her position tucked under his armpit. “What kind of twisted logic was that?”

“You’re naïve,” he spat back, trudging through yet more unknown shrubbery, heedless of her writhing. “The Infinite Tsukuyomi is the only path to true peace. It’s hardly my fault if all of you can’t see that. You’re all blind to the truth.”

“And you’re somehow the only one who can see it?” She scoffed. “If that’s not the infamous Uchiha arrogance, I don’t know what is!”

“I’m doing what’s necessary—”

“No. You’re doing what you _think_ is necessary—”

“Shut up already, brat,” Madara hissed. “There’s no point in arguing about this until I get back and save the shinobi world once and for all.”

“Sure, because trapping the entire world – most of whom don’t believe in your stupid idea of peace – in a giant genjutsu is totally saving it,” she said, rolling her eyes. He was even more stupid and bull-headed than Sasuke and considering said Uchiha had run off with a paedophile of a snake who’d given him a cursed hickey just for that reason… well, _it definitely spoke volumes about his intelligence levels. _“You’re an idiot.”

“Quiet,” Madara spoke, command rolling off from his bell-like voice that rang through the air all around them. “I spent years in that cave thinking things through. Seventy odd years consolidating my plans and putting them into action. If you’d lived as long as I did, you’d understand better… you’re not like that idiot friend of yours… you’d be smart enough to realise the truth, even if it took you a hundred years or so.”

“What the hell is your fixation on this _truth_?” she grumbled, ignoring the odd backhanded compliment… or whatever the hell that actually was. “I don’t understand you at all. You talk as if you’re the only one who’s ever thought about a lasting peace!” She glared up at him mulishly. “Don’t you think that’s _I don’t know… _a bit arrogant?” Green clashed with cold dark grey, and Sakura shivered. _She could feel the intensity of his stare, and it was nothing like what she’d ever felt before. _She could remember everything the trees had ever told her about the man-turned-boy holding her. “What makes you so different from the rest of the world? _What makes you so sure of yourself?_”

“Enough,” he snapped. “We won’t talk about this any longer. We’re enemies, and as soon as we get back to the battlefield, we’ll be fighting each other again. The only reason I’m with you right now is because you’re the biggest clue I have in getting myself back to where I need to be. This is a temporary alliance. One of convenience. Nothing more. So just shut up and stop trying to talk me out of saving the world. Don’t think I won’t kill you if you get in my way once we return.”

Sakura laughed bitterly. “And you’re supposed to be the _saviour of the shinobi world…_ You’re nothing more than a bloodthirsty warmonger seeking revenge for _Izuna_.”

She felt him stiffen at the name, it was impossible not to, considering he was carrying her. “And how,” he began slowly, voice as cold as ice, “do you know that name?” he asked, stopping in his walking, glaring at her sharply as he set her down in front of him. His grip on her wrist was iron tight, face set in barely concealed fury and hurt.

“The trees talk to me,” she said, wiggling her wrist to no avail. “Their roots are deep, they’ve lived long, and they see everything. They’ve whispered tales to me all my life, Uchiha. No matter what you think, I’m not some naïve little girl. I know many things, many secrets, and now I’ve had a taste of the war you’ve started. Don’t think I’m clueless. I’m anything but…”

“Nonsense.” Madara scoffed, not loosening his grasp in the slightest. “Hashirama never mentioned anything about that with his mokuton. You probably just read that up in the history books… That Senju bastard must’ve written at least one thing about the _boy_ he killed.”

“You know, you never denied seeking revenge,” she pointed out, ignoring all the instincts inside her which screamed at her to shut her mouth and keep it that way. _But she couldn’t. Not when the trees had seen everything. Not when they told her what Zetsu’s plans were… they’d told her about it after the war had begun – woven tales explaining everything. Told her more horrifying secrets about a world long past, and the machinations of a will that wanted to return to its ‘mother’. Told her of a giant tree that drained the life from the world… _No matter how much of a monster Uchiha Madara was he deserved to know the truth. _He deserved to know he was being played like a damned fiddle. _She just had to find a way to nail the idea into his skull while they were still children and far away from wherever the battleground was.

“Of course I want to make that white-haired bastard hurt,” Madara spat. “I’m not perfect, but at least I’m trying to undo everything Hashirama’s Legacy has wrought upon the world. If I hadn’t done anything, the five _great _nations would probably already be at war again… Fear, hatred, resentment… these things never subside. People can’t show one another their true feelings—”

“And that gives you the right to shove them into a _fake _world that’ll destroy humanity,” Sakura muttered bitterly, turning away from him, scowling darkly at the blackening sky. Stars twinkled high in the sky above them, the soft whispering of the sleepy trees about her making her sigh. _Of everybody she could’ve grabbed when she fell, why did it have to be him?_

The light in her core buzzed with irritation and unchecked anger, and in the darkness she finally noticed something eerie. Something which pulled her attention away from the annoyance bubbling like boiling hot magma in her belly. Something weird about both her and the idiotic Uchiha behind her. Without any other sources of light around it was rather hard to miss the new fact.

They were both glowing, as if starlight had been put inside their bodies and was radiating outwards. She stared down at her hands, inspecting her clear unblemished skin. Truly, it was remarkable. _Beautiful. _She’d never been her own personal glowstick before, and judging by his bemused expression, neither had Madara.

“We’re… glowing,” she said, pulling the thin clothes she wore closer around herself, ignoring the feeling of loneliness and fear. _Those were the worries of a child talking, and she wasn’t a child. She was an adult, and she’d been one since she was twelve._

Madara snorted mockingly. “What an astute observation…”

She bit her lip. “You know, I think everything would be a lot smoother if you stopped making little comments like that,” she said, fighting back the urge to slap him a couple. _It wasn’t like she could punch him all that hard… though maybe a nice hit to the balls would shut him up for a short while… _

“Comments like what?” he questioned, stepping closer to her yet again, sneering at her with that trademark Uchiha look. “The truth…?”

“Oh har har,” she spat, silently wishing she was taller and could pinch his puffy cheeks painfully in retort – seeing as that was probably one of the most painful things she could do to him with her weakened form. “Tch. Why is so hard for you to consider the possibility that you’re wrong…? That the black ‘will’ you created might not really be your own…”

“What the hell are you babbling about now?”

“The truth, you big dummy!” she yelled, throat hurting at the sheer volume she was reaching with that high-pitched voice of hers. _God dammit, why couldn’t he just understand?_ “The trees tell me everything, and you’re wrong! Everything your doing is wrong! You’re just being played like the big stupid idiot you are!”

“Again with that stupid nonsense!” Madara screeched back, stepping towards her, using his extra few inches of height to glare down at her. “Hashirama told me about his own mokuton, and trees can’t talk, you stupid little girl! I think I would've noticed since I have it too now. You’re just imagining things.”

“BULLSHIT!” she screamed, on the verge of tearing out her pink locks. “Trees can talk – they can talk to me, and they’ve told me everything about you and everyone else. You always used to suck at skipping stones… you used to discuss your plans for peace on top of the cliff together… you broke your friendship with Hashirama when you learnt he was from your rival clan… your brother tore out his own eyes and begged you to take them—”

“ENOUGH!”

Her head snapped to the side, cheek stinging, eyes burning with unshed tears as she looked at the idiot of an Uchiha in front of her. His hand was still raised, but his slap had already finished. Salty tears rolled down her cheeks before she could even think about trying to hold them back, hatred burning deep inside her as the bastard made her cry. _Like a child. Her body was that of a stupid child who couldn’t control simple things like tears. How embarrassing… how irritating… _Her lips pulled back in a snarl. _What right did he have to slap her across the face? _She was just telling the truth. _How dare the bastard slap her… _Laughter burst from her lips, mocking and pitiful. “What was that meant to be?” she asked, glaring at him venomously with those acrid green eyes of hers. “A slap? Really?” she spat, ignoring the coppery taste in her mouth from where her teeth had cut into her cheek. “Was that the best you could do, bastard?”

“Don’t speak of things you know nothing about. It’s none of your business, you stupid _little _brat,” he said, spitting the words out with just as much venom as she did.

“Oh, so I’m the brat who doesn’t understand…” she hissed. “Take a fucking look in the mirror sometime, because I can see the exact same thing looking at me right now.”

“You’re just an immature—”

Her hands curled into fists, the last vestiges of her self-control and restraint snapping like a dry twig. “SCREW YOU!” she screamed in his face, stomping away from the imbecile who couldn’t listen to reason without a second thought. Her tiny feet pounded the earth, the grass beneath her feet soft as she hurried away. _He could go screw himself. _She punched the nearest tree as she walked by, whimpering at the pain that throbbed through her. _Oh right, she didn’t have any damned chakra to soften the blow. _“Stupid… idiotic… halfwit… foolish… unreasonable…” she muttered viciously, her brain conjuring up as many words to describe the annoyance that was Uchiha Madara.

She didn’t need him, or his irritating company, and apparently he’d decided he didn’t need hers either – judging by the lack of pursuit behind her. _But that was fine. _She had no desire to be near him and his idiocy. Her mother had once said it was contagious.

Scowling, she hurried on through the forest, shivering slightly at the cool air and the fear building in the pit of her stomach. _She was all alone now… and she was no closer to figuring out how to get home, nor how she’d ended up in the strange seemingly never-ending woods._

_But at least she had her peace and quiet now._

_No matter how lonely it was._


	3. Misery Loves Company

Sakura refused to regret her decision to leave the bastard behind. It was a good decision – it had to be… even if she’d ended up captured by some locals. She’d lasted a single day before they’d found her. They were a curious, and utterly terrifying sight if she were completely honest with herself. Though that might’ve had something to do with the fact they were at least three times taller than her, and probably three times as wide too. She was a small child with no weapons nor chakra to her name. Trying to fight her way out was pointless, so Sakura plotted instead. Her new body needed lesser amounts of sleep than the native’s ones. That was a handy fact to note. _As was their apparent fascination with the colour of her hair. At least she was assuming it was the colouring, given all of them seemed to have grizzled dark hair._

There were three of them, three men, and five other small children in a similar state to her own as rain poured down on them from above. It was oddly fitting for the grim mood as the adults attempted to get a fire going. Dimly, she wondered how Madara was doing on his lonesome. _Probably no better than her, _she thought darkly. _The idiotic bastard couldn’t be doing any better than her in their strange new environment. _Wind howled, the darkening sky and setting sun making the shadows look that much longer. She was thankful for the dark cloak draped over her shoulders too, since her skin was already taking on that luminous tinge as she sat there around the attempts of a campfire.

Closing her eyes, Sakura frowned, pulling the light inside the very core of her new being back as far as she could. _Imagine a bubble, _she told herself, shivering slightly as she slowly learnt how to hide the light from view. _Even if it made her feel that much more vulnerable… even if it meant she couldn’t hear the trees or feel nature just as well as she used to. _Besides, if the choice was between feeling slightly less relaxed and acting as her own personal glowstick, the shinobi in her would always choose the former. _Acting as one’s own torch was literally lighting a beacon to one’s enemies… and Sakura was on foreign ground – in enemy territory._

Wincing slightly, she pulled at the thick cord tying her wrists together, gritting her teeth as they dug into her baby soft skin. _If only she hadn’t been turned into a child again… maybe then she’d have had the strength to break free._

_‘That bastard is probably in a worse situation, Shannaro!’_

Sakura blinked. _Apparently her Inner hadn’t vanished in their little trip through what she assumed to be dimension and space. _A smile stole over her face. At least there were still a couple of things constant – the other being that Uchiha Madara was still a complete raging arsehole.

_‘Damn right, girl! You tell him!’_

She smirked. It had been so tempting when they’d argued to say that and numerous other things, but somewhere in her brain she remembered he was _Uchiha Madara_, and no matter how much of a git he was, he was strong enough to mop the floor with her. The only reason he hadn’t was because they’d been shoved into children’s bodies and she was the only clue he had to getting home.

_But was that place really home? _

Her eyes narrowed. The sensation – that niggling feeling – which told her she didn’t belong had vanished the instant she stepped into this strange new world. _“You who doesn’t belong… I think it’s time you came home…” _The words echoed around her brain. It was clear someone had brought her there. Someone with a lot of power, and it’d likely take their abilities to get back to the Elemental Nations. _At least there she’d be in an adult body, and she’d have her chakra to protect herself. _She shut her eyes, pulling that core of light further in, shielding it within herself as best as she could. It was an unknown, and she had no idea how to use it. She didn’t even know if anyone could use it against her either, or whether it pinged on anybody’s _sensor _if there was indeed sensing of some ability in the strange world.

Large brown eyes stared at her from the log they sat on, a hushed whisper in a language she couldn’t understand for the life of her making her brow furrow. _Were there different languages in the strange world? _Even the tongue she could speak was completely different to that of the sole language of the Elemental Nations. Seemingly it’d been hardwired over that, and that thought scared her. _Because the one who’d brought them over had to be responsible for that, and if they could mess with their minds, then that was a power to be scared of._

The children next to her whispered again, their tone demanding, their words harsh as they glanced between her and the men who’d captured them. Louder voices of the men had them all tense, their glares boring into her as the man chuckled something in that unknown language. Sakura didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit. Especially not when they edged closer, seemingly egged on by the jeering of the adults. Spittle flew in her face, and Sakura shuffled back, confused. _Why was the damned kid so angry at her?_

_‘The little brat!’_

She clenched her teeth. She was an adult, she wouldn’t rise to the bait. It was beneath her. Her brow twitched, irritation pouring off of her._ Fuck it. _Her temper flared, teeth clamping shut. “Would you shut up already, brat?” she grumbled, knowing full well they’d be very unlikely to understand a single word she said. “I can’t understand you, so stop spitting in my face.”

Sakura glared at the dumbfounded expression on the brat’s face, snorting derisively. _Idiot. _She froze. _Why the hell did she sound like Uchiha Madara now? _She shook her head, clearing that thought from her mind. She bleached it from her brain. _She was nothing like that bastard. _

A touch at her head made her freeze, eyes widening when she realised how much of a terrible shinobi she was. _She blamed the regression into a child’s body. Her attention span was that of a goldfish. _One of the big men was in front of her, confusion and dawning horror written on his face as he stared at her, and all three of them were looking intently at her… _head? Hair? _Sakura blinked, feeling her pink hair being lifted away from her… _ear? _What did her ears have to do with anything?

Her hair fell back over her strangely sensitive ear in a matter of seconds, a round of hushed whisperings taking place between the adults as Sakura squirmed where she sat. _What was going on? _She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. _Why couldn’t anyone speak her damned language? Why couldn’t she understand their damned language?_

But as soon as the whispers began, they were just as quickly cut off. A flicker of black raced across her vision, a splatter of blood and a wet gurgle following, the three adults falling like dominos, and the kids next to her started throwing up, even as their binds were cut. One by one all of them were set free, and when her rescuer stood in front of her, she sorely wished she was anywhere but there in that moment.

Uchiha Madara flicked the blood off his stolen blade, eyes of the darkest grey glaring down into her green ones with something akin to disgust. _What was he doing there?_

One eyebrow rose. “Having fun over here, I see?”

“Piss off,” she snarled, hackles rising as she glared up at him. “I had everything under control!”

“So that’s why you’re tied up,” he drawled, the obnoxious Uchiha smirk on his lips, and Sakura sorely wished her hands were freed so she could do something violent to him. _Though it probably wouldn’t hurt all that much with her meaty toddler fists._

“Shut up!” she yelled, blinking as he commanded the other kids away with a point of his fist and some angry-sounding words. _They scattered like rats. _

“Well, if you had it handled, then by all means get out of those ropes already.” He folded his arms, knife gleaming in the dying light. “Go on,” he urged, grin wide and mocking, “do it.”

Her cheeks puffed out, and her wrists strained at the ropes. _No way was she dislocating anything when she couldn’t use chakra to heal them and ensure they healed properly. _She bit the inside of her cheek, refusing the urge to pout as her futile struggles continued. A flush rose on her face, ears burning as she felt his smug stare boring into her. “Lend me the knife?” she asked, glaring at him and all his smugness.

Madara simply smiled. “No.”

Sakura blinked, squirming as she found herself in a position that was becoming all too familiar all too soon – slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour. “Put me down!” she snarled, thrashing about determinedly. “Put me down and untie me, dammit!”

“No can do. We’ve got better things to be doing, and none of them involve me chasing after you. They don’t involve rescuing you either, if you really want to know.”

“I will _murder_ you in your sleep!”

Madara snorted. “And you wonder why I’m leaving your hands tied… not that you’d be able to do it. Stopping you would be a hassle though.”

“Screw it,” she muttered, finding the nearest fleshy part of him that she could, sinking her teeth down into his soft skin. “PUT. ME. DOWN,” she hissed, smiling as she tasted the coppery tang of blood.

“You little brat!” Madara snarled, letting go of her, uncaring at the hard tumble she took as she rolled off his shoulder and down onto the squishy dirt.

Sakura snapped her teeth at him in answer.

“Tch. Don’t blame me for not being gentle,” he said, grabbing her ankle, deftly avoiding all her attempts to kick him as he pulled her along – uncaring of all the tree roots, twigs, and branches littering the forest floor.

“Bastard! Untie me right this instant!” she yelped, scowling as her long pink locks were dragged through the dirt. “I’ll walk OK! Just untie my bloody hands!” She wriggled, spitting out curses one after the other when he didn’t stop. “Dammit, Uchiha!” She thrashed like a fish on land, wincing when sticks and brambles dug into her back and her hands. “I can walk! Stop dragging me already!” Her lips pulled back in a snarl. “LISTEN TO ME ALREADY!”

Madara had the audacity to hum.


	4. Fool Proof Plans

“I hate you.”

“You’ve said that already.”

“I really really _really _hate you…”

“Again. You’ve already said that,” Madara muttered, glaring at the crackling campfire they’d made in a sheltered little cluster of rocks and dense trees. _He’d done most of the heavy lifting and log-hunting, but Sakura had helped find some flint and kindling. _She puffed up at the thought. _She was very useful in the wild. She was hardly helpless, unlike what the git thought. _They were in no danger of setting themselves on fire, nor were they in danger of being seen, unless there were dangerous creatures that could fly. _Sakura sorely hoped there weren’t any. _They were knee deep in the unknown with only their wits and each other to rely on. “And seeing as you’re not going to be doing anything about that, shut up.”

Sakura snarled, scowling at him from where she sat – the furthest possible distance he let her get. _Thankfully he’d untied her hands after they’d reached their makeshift campsite and started their preparations. He’d watched her like a damned hawk, not taking his eyes off her for a second as soon as she was free. _“Just you wait!”

“I’m your best hope of survival here, so keep your pointless yapping to yourself,” he said, chewing on the cooked rabbit they’d hunted. _She’d startled the rabbit out of hiding, so there was no shame in eating it. It wasn’t as if Madara had done everything. She had survival skills too. _“The one time you gallivanted off on your lonesome you wound up captured. That should speak volumes about your ability to survive here.”

“I don’t want to be lectured by some guy who thinks reflecting his eye off the moon is a plan for peace,” she spat, cheeks stuffed full of their dinner. “You’re an idiot. A big fat idiot. The stupidest of the lot!”

“It’s a well thought-out plan that will bring eternal peace to the world and end the countless conflicts. You’re the stupid one who can’t see that.”

“Please… you’re reflecting an eyeball off the moon… why? Because a tablet told you it’d be the salvation of the Uchiha… Honestly, what is it with Uchiha and eyeballs…?”

“Be quiet, foolish brat. Just wait and see.”

Sakura folded her arms. “Yeah, no. You’re an idiot who’s getting fooled by Black Zetsu.”

Madara pinched the bridge of his nose, childish face screwed up in annoyance. “How many times do I have to tell to stop going on about that?”

“I won’t stop until you realise I’m telling the truth, idiot,” she grumbled, looking at the trees. Even then she could hear their whispers. They were faint, the trees sleeping and unable to answer her call even if she wished it so… not that she’d be able to use her mokuton without her chakra. “I can hear them even now, though they’re all asleep for some reason.”

“You’re insane. You’re hearing things.”

“And you just don’t want to admit there’s a possibility I’m right, scaredy cat!” she yelled, sticking out her tongue, blowing a raspberry at him. “Clearly I just have a superior mokuton. You can’t prove me wrong on that count. There’s no evidence contrary.”

Madara snorted. “As if.” He looked over at her. “You’re just delusional. Your weak mokuton has nothing on Hashirama’s.”

Her hands curled into fists. “Well maybe my mokuton wasn’t made for there,” she said, huffing as she crossed her legs. “Maybe it was made for here… you heard what that voice said… I didn’t belong there.”

“Shut it,” Madara snapped, scowling darkly. “Of course you belonged back in the Elemental Nations. You were born there, why wouldn’t you be.”

“OK, snappy, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” she said, blinking at the sharper tone his voice had taken. _It was like poking a lion, and Sakura did have some survival instincts. _She could leave him alone until he slept. _She’d go off on her own. She didn’t need him. Not in the slightest. _She would’ve totally been able to escape her captors by herself, she just needed a little more time. _That was right, if she’d had a little more time she would’ve broken free._

“Now, let’s get off that topic and onto a more important one – of what exactly we’ve learnt since our arrival here. You want to go first or should I?” he questioned, staring levelly at her with those dark grey eyes of his.

“There are lots of trees?” she offered.

Madara sighed. Deeply. “Of all the people I could’ve been stuck with… ugh. I’d take Tobirama over you. At least he’d understand logic… at least he’d be able to make simple observations,” he muttered, stomping over to where she sat. “Well then, stupid, let me tell you exactly what I’ve pieced together since our arrival here.”

“Go ahead, Mr-I’m-So-Damned-Smart… and yet am still getting tricked into reviving a plant monster’s mother…” she mumbled, trailing off as those dark grey eyes stared at her flatly. “Tch. Fine. Hurry up and say your piece.”

“First.” Madara held up a finger. “We have the language barrier issue.” He flicked another finger up. “Second, there’s the whole issue of what happened when you were captured. Though your capture wasn’t intentional, so I can officially call you the biggest idiot I’ve had the pleasure of meeting – and I’m including Hashirama here. Despite that, though, you helped me figure out a few things I’ve been speculating about. If we combine those problems together, I believe it’s safe to assume we’re a different race to those humans back there.”

“That’s—”

Madara grabbed her tongue as she stuck it out again in protest, glaring down at her until she fell silent. _He still didn’t release her tongue though, the git. _“They were surprised by your hair colour in the beginning, but they were horrified when they spotted your ears, in case you didn’t realise that with all the action that went down.”

“My ears.” Sakura reached up for them, but the idiot beat her to the punch, pulling back his spiky black long locks, revealing a set of pointed ears which were soon concealed again by his spiky mane. Her own were matching versions of his, only smaller due to her smaller body, the points barely concealed by her smoother hair. _If the wind even blew the wrong way they’d be revealed for the whole world to see_. “Why do we have pointed ears?”

“Shut up, sit down, and freak out later, brat,” Madara grumbled. “It’s like what I said about us being of a different race to the other children back there. Their ears were rounded like ours used to be – plus they weren’t as pretty as either of us. While I look ten times better than you, I can’t say you’re completely ugly unlike those urchins back there.”

“They also weren’t glowing…”

“Oh. So you actually noticed something. How marvellous.”

“I am _so _going to strangle you in your sleep.”

“Hmm, and here I thought you’d be busy running away,” Madara mused. “No matter. I was always going to take steps to prevent that,” he said, and then Sakura found herself being squashed under his weight. He sat on top of her, their childish bodies making the picture seem far more innocent and playful than it should’ve been. “To get back on topic, you remember exactly when they decided to have a nosey at your ears, don’t you?”

“Get off of me, you bastard!” she hissed, wriggling as he simply sat there like she was the most comfortable cushion in the world _She definitely wasn’t. Not with the sheer amount of squirming she was doing. _

“It was after you spoke, like the dumb idiot you are, but you helped me solidify my hypothesis,” he said, continuing on as if she didn’t exist. “Even if they couldn’t speak our language, they still recognised it… plus our voices – they’re smoother and seem far more musical than their own speech. So, seeing as we’re stuck here, I think it’d be the wisest course of action to not use our voices when we encounter civilisation.”

“So… we use sign language or something?”

Madara blinked. “Huh. What do you know? You might actually have a brain inside that thick skull of yours,” he mumbled. “Who’d have thought it…?”

“I will stab you.”

“Quiet with the death threats already,” he ordered, unfazed by her mutterings and plots of his painful demise. “You know Konoha’s Standard, don’t you?” he asked, flicking his fingers around in the many patterns that’d been drilled into her brain in the academy and on missions with Kakashi and the boys.

“Of course, what do you take me for?”

“An idiot.”

“Tch,” she grumbled. “I walked right into that one.”

“You did.”

“Shut up already. I don’t need your input.”

Madara sighed, rolling his eyes for what must’ve been the thousandth time. “So, do I have your agreement to use Konoha Standard whenever we enter a public area?”

“Fine.”

“Do I have your agreement to cover up your ears somehow whenever we enter civilisation?”

“Fine,” she muttered, eyeing the scraps of cloth, silently working out how to craft a headband of some description to help hide her unusual hair and ears.

“Good,” Madara muttered, tucking his head in the dirt next to her own as he sunk down on her. Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch as she lay back on the forest floor, staring up at the stars twinkling in the midnight sky. _Madara was using her as a goddamn mattress, and Sakura couldn’t deny it was a good plan. She was pinned under his weight, unable to do anything, unable to run away, unable to punch him in the stomach or the balls like she sorely wanted to._

“I hate you,” she muttered, ignoring the soft puffs of warm breath against her neck, and the silky feeling of his hair splayed over her neck and chest as the scourge of the Elemental Nations snuggled into her petite body. _He was warm, _she noted, sighing slightly in relief despite the slight crushing sensation in her chest. _Body heat exchange was a fairly decent idea, even if it was as awkward as hell for her. The git seemed to have no sense of shame._

Her eyes glazed over in sleep, the sounds of nature lulling her into pleasant dreams which didn’t feature one Uchiha Madara, and it was bliss. At least until she woke up. Come morning, she found herself snuggled up to the older shinobi-turned-child, still well and truly trapped underneath him even as she struggled to breathe.

“Bastard!” she hissed, trying and failing to shake him off. She yanked on his hair. “Get off!”

“What’s the magic word?”

“DIE!”

“I’m afraid that’s not it.”

“Tch. Get off me _please_, idiot,” she grumbled, glaring up at him. “We need to find breakfast.”

“Are you really that hungry?” He tilted his head, a thoughtful look on his face as they both realised the absence of their usual gnarling stomachs. “Though I suppose it’s wisest for us to begin our trek on a full stomach, just in case the areas we go to don’t have much in the way of food.” He nodded, finally climbing up and off her, dragging her off into the forest to search for game – a task Inner was strangely helpful with, her voice growing stronger and louder by the second.

_‘Sakura!’ _She blinked at the sound of Inner’s voice as it rang out in her mind again. _‘Up there! Look! Berries!’ _

“Huh… thanks Inner,” she mumbled, yanking the purplish berries off the stem, just as Madara came back from his brief five minutes away from her – _after leaving her with strict instructions to stay in the general area, unless she wanted him to crack out the rope and drag her along by the ankles again. _“I found berries.”

“You sure they’re edible?” he questioned, a rabbit slung over his shoulder.

She shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

“Hn. Don’t die,” he muttered, heading over to their campfire to deal with the rabbit. “You’re the only clue I have to get home and save the world.”

“You aren’t saving the world.”

“SHUT UP ALREADY!”

“Ha! Nope!”


	5. Hobbit Hosts

They fell into a pattern. _Eat. Walk. Sleep. Repeat. _It was monotonous and ridiculously boring, especially with the company she kept. Her green eyes locked with the dark grey ones, glaring in an instant as the bane of her existence made eye contact with her. _He just rolled his eyes exasperatedly_. Let it be said Uchiha Madara was a complete slave driver who seemed to take delight in all her struggles. _He loved telling her about all his superiority. _Sakura enjoyed snarking right back at him, a smirk on her face when he started flailing his limbs about whenever he tried to make his points. _His stupid points which made no sense compared to hers._

She told him as much, and of course they’d just resolved to arguing again, glaring at each other spitefully as they insulted each other to the best of their ability.

The dark green of the leaves around them slowly became lighter, the bark of the trees becoming a more reddish brown the further they walked in that direction. Sakura wasn’t quite sure whether that was a good thing, but at least they were making progress of some sort. Madara looked less happy with the turn of events though.

“What’s up with you, grumpy face?” she asked, folding her arms as she stared at him from side on. “You know, you could try smiling for once in your life, no matter how creepy it might look.” She peered at him, irritated by his stubborn I’m-ignoring-you act. “It’s not like the moon will fall out of the sky if you grin like an ordinary human being.”

“Only we’re probably not _human beings _anymore, or have you already forgotten that, idiotic brat?” he questioned, glaring at her witheringly. “Your memory leaves much to be desired.”

“Your face leaves much to be desired,” she muttered, staring up at the moon. It looked larger in the sky than it did back in the Elemental Nations, and its glow was that much stronger. _Or maybe she was just noticing it more because she glowed too. _The stars were unfamiliar, an ever constant reminder that this wasn’t the world she’d grown up in. She was in the unknown with the worst company she could’ve asked for.

“Talk quieter, brat,” Madara hissed, holding his hand up in front of her.

She slapped it out of the way. “No!”

His hand clamped down over her mouth, his other dragging her in front of him to keep her still. Sakura wasted no time in biting his hand, smirking viciously as she heard him curse under his breath, pausing only when Madara released his grasp on her waist and signed ‘people, civilisation’ in Konoha Standard. She blinked, and then he was tying her makeshift headband over her head, pulling it so covered most of her forehead and practically all of her long pink locks. _Though she was fairly sure there were numerous twigs and leaves still stuck in her silken locks thanks to the idiot next to her. Damned ankle dragging bastard._

Sakura bit her lip, licking at his hand, smirking as he hastily released his grip on her mouth. ‘What do we do?’ she signed, swallowing nervously, quickly hiding her unease when Madara patted her head condescendingly. ‘Get your filthy hand off my head.’

‘We improvise,’ Madara signed back, fingers flicking fancily. ‘Scratch that. I’ll improvise. You just stay there and look as non-threatening as possible. Shouldn’t be hard – considering you look like a toddler.’

Sakura stuck her middle finger up at him, scowling as he grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards through a set of bushes. The forest fell away, trees becoming further and further from one another as the sky turned a lighter shade of blue, indicating dawn was fast on the approach. Neither of them could’ve expected what they saw on the other side of the shrubbery.

Brown and dark blue met green and dark grey.

Sakura froze, swallowing as she stared at the two natives of the world they were in. _But it was weird. _Neither of them were much taller than Madara, and yet they didn’t carry any trace of the baby fat on their cheeks or wrists as the pair of them did. _Yes, Madara still had slightly pudgy cheeks and wrists, no matter how much he vehemently denied it. _They looked like adults, and yet they were tiny on the scale of things. Plus they had hairy feet, unlike the pair of them. She bit her lip. _So they looked considerably different, and they weren’t as pretty as the two of them. _They didn’t look anything like the men who’d taken her captive all those days ago.

Sakura had no way of knowing how far they’d travelled, only knowing they’d walked through the forest for days in search of civilisation. _Which they’d apparently now found… _Fear gripped at her heart, and one hand curled in the loose fabric of Madara’s ratty cloak. They both had cloaks now, for the colder nights, purloined from dead bodies, but they were both shinobi. They weren’t overly fussed about that, especially after they’d washed the cloth to get as much of the dirt out as possible. It was just fortunate for the pair of them that it hadn’t rained. They’d have been in more possible trouble if it had, but it seemed they’d landed in a summery or late spring season. She edged behind Madara, _and she was using him as a meat shield. Nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t like she was scared. Absolutely not. She was just acting as non-threatening as possible, as Madara had asked her to. That was all it was. _Peering out from behind Madara, she watched and listened as the small people conversed in that unfamiliar tongue.

She tugged at Madara’s clothes. ‘What do we do from here?’

‘Wait for them to make a move.’ Madara signed back, eyeing the curious pair in front of him, edging back ever so slightly as the one with curly dark brown hair and blue eyes strode towards them. He was saying something – and Sakura was fairly sure the two were male if her eyes were anything to go off.

‘Boring.’

‘Enough. I have things to plan, idiot,’ Madara signed furiously, looking blankly between the two strange creatures. They had strangely shaped ears too. _Probably another species, if Madara’s ‘different species’ criteria were anything to go off._

Not that Sakura fully believed him on that. He was being led around by the nose by a black plant. She really didn’t have a high opinion of him. Especially not with the amount of flailing he was prone to doing when riled up and argumentative. _He looked stupid. _She always told him that.

‘They don’t seem too threatening,’ she offered, watching as the brown-haired one offered his hand out to a glaring Madara. _Though with his new face, his glares weren’t all that terrifying._

The small adult placed his other hand to his chest, repeating the same two words a few times. “Frodo Baggins.” Sakura blinked, her brain piecing together that it was likely his name. She’d heard the first word mentioned a few times in the first conversation the brown-haired one and the blonde one had between themselves.

‘We follow,’ Madara finally signed after a few tense moments. ‘But stay on your guard. We don’t know what their motives are or where they’re taking us.’

‘They could be nice people, you know.’

‘Better to assume and prepare for the worst, otherwise we’ll get a nasty surprise when they turn on us,’ he replied, like the untrusting, paranoid shinobi he was. _Not that Sakura could say she wasn’t either of those two… she was just perhaps slightly less untrusting and paranoid, but that was a given thanks to her younger age. Paranoia generally increased in older age, and Madara was practically ancient._

‘Again, they could be nice people, so stop saying _when_.’

‘Shut up already,’ he signed back, irritation rolling off him in waves as he took the stranger’s hand, grabbing Sakura’s smaller one with his other.

‘Technically not speaking, bastard.’

Madara glared at her – the message clear in his eyes. ‘Shut up.’

Sakura smirked, fingers already moving. ‘Make me,” she signed, blinking as her irritating companion dragged her forwards roughly, smirking when she stumbled. Her hand slipped out of his suddenly loose grip, mouth tasting the dirt once more. Her lips twisted in annoyance, and she stood up, ignoring the blonde hairy-footed male beside her who seemed to want to help. One hand dug into the soft earth underneath her, gathering a lump of it in her hand, her other hand reaching out for Madara’s once again.

‘Like that?’ Madara asked, grabbing her hand in his own.

Sakura smeared the dirt into his face in answer. ‘Screw you, bastard,’ she signed in satisfaction.

Grey eyes narrowed, and Madara turned to look towards wherever their new host was leading them, seemingly unaffected by the dirt covering his face. But Sakura recognised the glint in his eyes. The one that sent shivers down her spine when she saw it. The one that said _this means war. _A scowl appeared on her lips. _Bring it_, she thought viciously, blinking when they came out of the forest.

There were hills all around them, small and large, small dirt tracks leading between them. Gates and fences were set up in front of them, railing off child-sized circular doors painted in bright colours. _Definitely a different species to humans, _she mused. _They practically lived underground. _Her grip on Madara’s hand tightened, eyes darting about as she tried to figure out where they were being led to by the two seemingly nice small people. _It always paid to know one’s destination. _Her annoying companion had a similar idea – hence why he was likely not inflicting petty revenge upon her at that very moment in time.

It was something they had in common, the fact they both took large amounts of satisfaction from petty revenge, especially towards each other. _Sakura blamed it on her newfound childishness. She’d been turned into a toddler, so she was allowed to act like a bit of one especially in front of others. _They weren’t supposed to be attracting too much attention to themselves after all.

Frodo led them on, not stopping in his walking until they were in front of a hill with a green door in it, and it was there that he opened the door and ushered the pair of them inside. Madara went hesitantly, glancing back at the blondish one who was leaving before gingerly stepping foot inside the homely little house under the hill.

It wasn’t wet or nasty-smelling, like Sakura had thought it might be. Instead, it was warm, dry, and smelt wonderful. Their host prattled on at them as they walked further inside, speaking in that unfamiliar language neither of them could understand for the life of them.

_Sometimes Sakura really hated language barriers. _

Still, he showed them the bathroom, the kitchen, and a bedroom she presumed the two of them could use. Why he was doing this, Sakura wasn’t all too sure, and she was fairly certain Madara was suspicious of this Frodo’s motives as well. _Still, at least she could consider that Frodo was actually a nice person who was all set for helping two little lost children with whatever they needed._

Yawning, she wandered back into the bathroom he’d shown them, soon figuring out how to get hot water for the bath she sorely needed after the numerous days without one. She most definitely stank, and she was going to be removing that stench—

Sakura froze, halfway through the process of stripping off her clothes, hands twitching into action as Madara pulled his dirty tunic off. ‘What the hell are you doing in here?’

‘Having a bath.’

‘I’m having a bath!’

One black brow quirked. ‘And? We’re both children technically, so there’s nothing to see—’

Sakura threw the closest bar of soap at him. ‘I hope you drown,’ she signed furiously, smug satisfaction radiating through her as the soap bounced of his head.

He caught it afterwards, _the git_, and continued stripping off like nothing was wrong. Sakura decided to do the same. _She wouldn’t let him get to her… wouldn’t let him get the satisfaction of whatever petty revenge he was plotting._

She settled down, scrubbing as much of the dirt from her hair and body before she climbed into the bathtub, sighing as she relaxed in the hot water, refusing to look as Madara climbed in the opposite side to her. _There was nothing wrong. As he’d said, they were both children in body—_

“Wow,” she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper, mindful of their host in some other room of the underground flat of sorts. “It’s _tiny_…”

Madara’s eye twitched, and a bar of soap slammed into her own head.

Sakura blinked, glaring at him as he sat there, arms folded. She didn’t need to think twice before splashing him, kicking her feet at him mercilessly.

“Two can play at that game,” he hissed, splashing water right back at her.

It descended into madness from there, obviously.

She wasn’t entirely too sure of how long their bathtub battle went on for, but fresh clothes and breakfast were waiting for them outside by the time they finished. Sakura felt mildly apologetic for the mess they’d made, but she was hungry and faintly tired, so after finishing her meal, she went straight for the bedroom Frodo had shown them.

Madara followed, obviously, and Sakura was resigned to her fate as his mattress by that point in time. _He’d done it every time they’d made camp for the night. _Though this time, she had to admit, it was slightly more comfortable with a feathery mattress underneath her as Madara snuggled into her side, breath puffing against her neck as his eyes glazed over in sleep.

Sakura didn’t wait too long to follow.


	6. Moonlit Nightmares

_“You should never have returned here.”_

The whispers wove through her dreams, the voice making her blood curdle as the misty amber wisps invaded her mind.

_“You should not have come!”_

It was dark – so very dark – the edges of the strange vision clouded in grey smoke, the ruins of some tower littered all around her as she stood there. Confusion ran high, and Sakura almost whimpered as something came into sight. It looked like a wolf… only it was bigger, and far more deadly than any wolf she’d seen before in the Elemental Nations. _But these weren’t the Elemental Nations, _the sly voice in the back of her head reminded her, and it wasn’t Inner. Inner was one of her few sources of strength in her strange new world.

A howl pierced the night, but it wasn’t the baying of any wolf. No. It was a call to arms. Sakura wasn’t sure how she knew it, but that was what it was. A cold feeling passed through her, and Sakura blinked as wolf after wolf came towards the central gathering place within the tower ruins. It was like she was a ghost, a cold shiver running down her spine whenever the strange big wolves stepped through her. _And then the wolves started talking to each other, in a language she oddly enough could understand. _Sakura blinked, watching as a figure that was most definitely _not _a wolf stepped out of the shadows, a black cloak pulled over them so she couldn’t ascertain their identity. Not that she’d have recognised them. She didn’t want to get closer either. The eeriness of the entire place unnerved her.

“The empty vessel…” the words were rasped out from underneath the cloak. “Bring me the empty vessel…” The base of a spear banged against the ground in his grasp, and she flinched as the sound echoed around the ruins. “Those are your master’s orders. He needs it to save our lord.”

Sakura blinked, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as the shadowed eyes of the being lifted, a sniffling sound coming from under the hood. _Like scenting out prey._

“Wait… something is not right here…”

Her throat was dry. Bone dry.

Eyes locked on hers, yellow and acrid in colouring, and her stomach dropped to her toes. _He’d found her… she was going to get ripped apart by the strange intelligent wolves around them who wouldn’t take too kindly to being watched in the middle of whatever it was they were doing_. “We’re being watched…”

She scrambled back, breathing frantically as she tried to find the nearest exit. The creature had seen her, even though she wasn’t physically there. It was impossible. She didn’t even understand how she was there in the first place. _What the hell was going on? _she wondered, eyes widening as the ground seemed to drop out from under her, a glowing slitted amber eye peering down at her as she fell down into the earth, much like she had on her way to the strange place.

Sakura shot up in bed, breathing heavily, her tiny body trembling as she tried to process what the hell had just happened. _A nightmare? _But it had felt so real. Too real.

“Brat?” Madara blinked sleepily up at her from where his head was still somehow snuggled into the crook of her neck. “What’s wrong?” he whispered, ever mindful of their host somewhere else in that very weird building. “It’s still dark outside. Go back to sleep already.”

The wolves had been so big compared to her tiny scrawny body, their teeth sharp and dripping with saliva, eyes beady and intelligent. _Sakura didn’t want to see them again. _The thought terrified her, and it made her hands fist in the clothes Madara wore. She didn’t even know how she’d ended up in that situation. She’d just fallen asleep. _She was scared to fall back asleep. _The amber eye made her feel sick, and it made her head pound.

_‘Not like the idiot would understand!’ _Inner spoke as she gazed at Madara, who looked irritatingly comfy as he pushed her back down to the mattress. _‘He’s too obsessed with his oh-so-clever plans for peace.’_

Sakura breathed out a sigh, blinking as she realised her eyes were practically overflowing with tears at the prospect of going back to sleep after her… nightmare. There was nothing else it could be. It was just a bad dream made up from her overactive imagination. She ran her hands over herself, smoothing down the pricked hair on her arms and neck, sorely wishing she could be safely tucked up back at her home in the Elemental Nations.

Tears rolled down her face, thick and hot. _She wanted to go home. She wanted to go back, even if there was a war going on, because at least everything except what went on inside Madara’s head made sense. _Her hands shook, clenched in Madara’s clothing as she tried to find some comfort in the warm body snuggled beside hers.

“Why are you shaking, idiot?” Madara hissed, glaring at her with those storm grey eyes of his. “Stop shaking. I can’t sleep with you like this!”

“So don’t sleep with me, you blithering fool,” she snarled, still shaking like a leaf, her voice quivering ever so slightly. _She blamed her newfound childishness. It had her emotions all over the place._

“What the hell has got your knickers in a twist?”

“Hn.”

“You aren’t an Uchiha. Don’t you dare hn me.”

“Hnnn.”

He prodded her nose as though it were a button. “No, idiotic brat.”

Sakura shoved a finger up his nose in retaliation, her other hand coming up to pinch at his cheek. “I’m not the idiot here,” she muttered. “You’re the big, fat, stupid, imbecile who doesn’t have a scrap of common sense.”

“Oh wait, who was it again who rescued you from those bandits?” Madara tilted his head, looking contemplative for a single second, despite her finger lodged up his nose. “That’s right. Me. So shut that pretty little mouth of yours and go back to being a good mattress.”

“This good mattress will kick your backside to the floor in a moment if you don’t shut up,” she said, wrenching her hands free of his face, wiping them clean on his clothes.

“So glad you acknowledge your lesser status—”

“Do you want me to castrate you with a blunt kitchen knife?”

“Brat.”

“Bastard,” she grumbled, throwing an arm around his waist, snuggling up to him as much as she could. He was a good heat source, and hopefully a decent nightmare deterrent. Well, a good source of material with which to replace the weird content of her last freakish dream. She’d rather have nightmares about Madara than anything else – because Madara was there, and he wasn’t about the hurt her. Not when she was his clue as to how to return back to his home. “Madara…” she said, burrowing into his warm chest, her hair brushing his chin as she asked him a serious question for once. _A question that burnt at her_. “Do you think we’ll ever get home?”

“Of course, brat,” he grumbled, chest vibrating against her cheek. “I still have to enact my _excellent _plan for world peace.”

“It’s a shitty idea, and the sooner you acknowledge that, the better.”

“I’m not arguing on this unless I get five hours more sleep, so for the sake of my sanity, just shut up and sleep already,” he said, smooshing his face into an actual pillow rather than the crook of her neck that time.

“What sanity? You lost yours ages ago, and your ‘reflecting my eye off the moon’ plan is the proof,” she muttered, her voice soft as they curled up under the blankets together.

“Shut up already and get to sleep.”

“I don’t wanna…”

“For crying out loud, sleep… or would you rather I slam something into your skull to make you get some rest?” he asked, hands mussing through her silky pink hair as if to grab her head and carry through with his threat.

“I’m fairly sure that wouldn’t be rest,” she said. “Plus, you might hit my baby skull a wee bit too hard, and then where would you be in your plot to get back to your home?”

“Our home.”

Sakura blinked languidly. “Huh?”

“It’s our home, you stupid twit,” he mumbled, throwing a leg over her own. “Now stop talking and be a good cuddly toy already.”

“I thought I was a mattress?”

“Shut the fuck up already. You are what I say you are.”

Sakura scowled weakly. “Child.”

“You’re closer to that definition in both age and appearance right now,” he said. “So please stop talking and close your eyes already before I give into the temptation to gag you.”

“Kinky.”

“No, Sakura. Just… no.”

“I don’t wanna sleep,” she muttered, yawning as she nuzzled into the warmth, her brain too addled with sleep to care about how she shouldn’t be doing that. _Madara had done it to her neck. She was just getting herself some petty revenge. Obviously Madara couldn’t stand it when people nuzzled his chest. _She snorted with laughter.

“You need to sleep, so just shut your eyes already. Children can’t go for too long without sleep. It’s bad for their bodies—”

“And probably helps you develop those wicked eyebags you had—”

“I am going to take pleasure in obliterating you when we get back home.”

“If we get back home,” Sakura mumbled.

“When. We will be getting back, brat,” he said. “Just you watch.”

“I’m watching?”

“These things take time, now silence yourself and sleep.”

“My apologies, but I don’t come with a mute button,” she said, glancing out of the window at the pale half moon hanging in the sky. It was a beautiful sight. One she couldn’t admire properly with her brain addled by the need for sleep. _Apparently she couldn’t stop herself from babbling either when muddled by the need for sleep._

“Just shut that mouth of yours and close your eyes then,” he hissed, patience finally running out. “You might not want to sleep, but one of us here does.”

Sakura bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes yet again. “But I can’t,” she mumbled, voice thick with fear she’d never really felt as strongly. _Probably something to do with her being a child, and her being unfamiliar with everything in the strange and scary new land._ “It was scary. I thought I was going to die… I thought those wolves were going to eat me…”

“You realise you are making absolutely no sense, don’t you?”

“I had a bad dream you big dummy!”

“Get over it?”

“You suck at comforting people,” she said, glaring at his irritatingly comfy chest. _Was that why he’d used her as a mattress before?_

“My offer to knock you unconscious still stands.”

“Fuck off.”


	7. Facing Facts and Unknowing Adventures

Tiptoeing around their host was surprisingly easy, though Sakura kept having to remind herself to look around and check whether this _Baggins _was in the room with them. He was awfully quiet for a civilian without a smidge of chakra. Then again, they were both amazingly quiet and light on their feet despite their loss of chakra. _Despite their compacted sizes too. _Sakura thought she was adjusting rather well to being a child again. It wasn’t as horrible as she’d first thought, despite the less than stellar company. She could deal with Madara though, especially since he wasn’t out to kill her. Well not yet anyhow. “I’m braiding your hair tonight,” she grumbled, awareness coming back to her as she choked on the fluffy black strands of hair which had somehow ended up in her mouth. “I don’t care what you think—”

“Quiet!” Madara hissed, dark grey eyes already wide awake and narrowed in suspicion as the sounds of voices reached them. He recognised both voices, as did Sakura, despite only having heard the second once a matter of weeks ago when they’d both been brought to the house of their host. ‘Let’s see what’s going on,’ he signed, and Sakura acquiesced without any sort of snarky retort.

She padded out of their room close behind him, peering around the corner of one of the numerous rounded corridors, eyeing their curly-haired host, and the one called _Gamgee. _Green eyes narrowed on what they were doing – both of them appearing to be packing away supplies into a bag. ‘Are they going on a trip?’

‘Obviously, idiot.’

Sakura gave him the middle finger. ‘I was just double checking.’

‘Sure.’

‘Are they gonna leave us behind do you think?’ she signed, watching as food and other necessities were packed away. ‘They can’t leave us, can they?’ she added, nervousness stirring in her gut as she watched the short people pack away their belongings.

‘Well they are locals,’ Madara concluded. ‘They might be going out to hunt or something. Well, if they hunt to find food. This world seems rather primitive compared to ours. They don’t even have chakra… but we should probably stick with these two. They haven’t done anything untoward, and they’re probably our best bet of survival in these lands.’

Together, they hurried back into the bedroom they’d been given, hunting out appropriate travelling clothes and a small pack Madara filled with some essential clothing, before heading back out into the corridor, dressed and ready.

‘I think we can trust them.’ She folded her arms, looking on at the preparing pair as they went to make their presence known.

‘If I wasn’t here you’d already be dead with that naivety of yours,’ Madara signed, sighing quietly, rolling his eyes as she determinedly ignored him and went and tugged demandingly on the sleeve of their nice host.

He spun to face them, confusion written across his face as he spied what they were wearing, that unfamiliar language sounding again, his blondish friend joining in. Sakura tightened her grip on his sleeve, staring up at him unflinchingly with her hard green eyes, trying to drive the point in. _They were going with him, wherever he was going, and for however long their trip would be. _He was their best choice for survival. Her meeting with those strange big people had only proven that much. Not everyone was nice in their new world, and without any way to communicate, she had no way to pick out who she could and couldn’t trust. This Frodo Baggins had fed them, clothed them, and generally been very nice while they were staying with him. She wasn’t about to let him leave them both behind when they went of on a long trip – because judging by how much they packed, it’d be a decently lengthy trip. _Their hosts would probably be able to forage for more food, so it might be even longer than any of her predictions. _

So when their hosts left, concerned and worried glances thrown their way, they followed close behind them, not even bothering with subtlety. Sakura felt uneasy, heading out into the bigger scarier world, but Inner was all for their little travel. _They both knew they couldn’t remain in one place for too long… not after the nightmares she was having almost every night. _She saw twisted, rotting creatures, and wolves twice as large as any man. _Trees whispered to her, urging her forwards, and Sakura took strength from that. _Not that she told Madara that. _Saying anything along those lines would just result in yet another argument between them, and as much as she despised him, she also took comfort from his presence. _He was weirdly like a rock in that sense. A rock she’d happily kick as far away from her as possible if they ever made it back to the Elemental Nations.

_But Sakura wasn’t too sure they’d ever make it back, not that she voiced those thoughts. _

Madara was determined, even he seemingly had no clue about where to begin.

Sakura could respect that much at least.

Grass and mud squelched under her feet, the rolling hills of the quaint little village of sorts they were in passing by slowly as Frodo led them onwards. Though it was less him leading, and more the pair of them following like lost little ducklings.

Madara had glared at her when she’d signed that. ‘I am not a duckling, and we are not lost. We’re simply choosing the best route with the greatest chance of survival.’

‘Keep telling yourself that.’

An elbow jabbed into her ribs, and Sakura grunted, hurrying out of jabbing range as quickly as she could. _His elbows were annoyingly pointy. _She hurried toward their guide, grabbing a hold of his cloak, ignoring the looks she got from everyone. _It was a decent way of ensuring she didn’t get separated from the locals, and from keeping herself separate from Madara. _At least up until the annoyance himself grabbed a hold of her free hand.

One eyebrow rose when she glared at him. ‘What? Somebody has to ensure you don’t do anything stupid around here.’

Sakura rolled her eyes, tugging her idiot of a companion along. _What a sight they must have made – a tiny adult, and two small children clinging to him and each other. _The thought made her want to gag. It sounded so adorable, and yet it was _Madara _of all people she could’ve been stuck with. She’d take Itachi over him any day.

_She missed Naruto and Sasuke. _Chewing on her lip, she thought of all the days before. When they were still genin, and all of them were still in the village. Happy. Carefree. No worries about ancestors and their crazy plots involving moons and eyeballs. _No worries about being turned into a small pointy eared child and thrown into a world she was clueless about._

Her shoulders sunk, feet trudging on, her hand grasped tightly by Madara’s slightly larger one. _It was warm too. A nice kind of warmth. _Sakura shook her head, veering her thoughts out of that dangerous territory as best she could. She couldn’t afford to associate Madara with anything nice.

_Just in case they made it home._

‘Oh great. Another one,’ Madara signed, the flicker of movement pulling her attention towards the third tiny adult who’d joined them. One the other two had called _Pippin_, which brought their total number up to five.

_One more person than any genin team,_ her mind supplied. That didn’t unnerve her in the slightest. The more people they had the better the chances of success, unless they were going for a stealth operation. Vaguely, Sakura wondered what was going on – what the purpose of their trip was, because she couldn’t really make heads or tails of it. _Then again, Madara had said her observational skills and deductive reasoning were terrible. _Her eye twitched at the memory. Just because she couldn’t throw together a plan or string clues together didn’t mean she was useless in the situation they were stuck in. She’d be anything but, and she’d prove it, both to herself and the irritating bastard behind her. _It’d reduce his pool of available insults by a smidgeon anyway, and that was always a plus in her book._

Evening fell before they could reach any sort of inn or residence, and Sakura was fine with camping out – as was Madara. They’d both done it enough. They were shinobi. Sleeping on grass and tree branches meant nothing to them. But as night fell, they saw _them _in the forest they’d just started walking through.

The sight made both her and Madara stiffen, starlight seeming to radiate from the eyes and hair of the strange beings who called out to them, to Frodo, in that unfamiliar language. Chilliness which had been building in her bones vanished, and Sakura tightened her grip on Madara’s hand.

_Because their glow was similar to hers and Madara’s own. _Well, before they’d learnt to hide it. _Just like chakra concealment. _They were tall, humanoid, but that which made Sakura’s heart stutter were the pointed tips of their ears, and the whispers between them that she could actually understand… _even if the speech was weirdly formal and seemingly outdated._

‘No.’

Sakura blinked at the signs Madara flashed her way, hands already moving to present her own arguments. ‘But they feel safe and they speak our language.’

Madara glared at her, pulling her closer as Frodo led them closer towards the group of strange pointy-eared people. ‘That’s precisely why we’re not going to say anything. Haven’t you learnt anything since our arrival? We need to be cautious. Not everybody here is nice – and I’d trust Frodo more than these strangers, so keep your hood up and your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.’

‘Scaredy-cat.’

‘It’s called staying alive, imbecile.’ Madara snapped back, flicking her right between the eyes as he finished his fancy hand signs.

‘Well at least you trust Frodo now…’

‘I said I trusted him more. Slightly more. I wouldn’t put my life in his hands, that’s for sure.’

Sakura stared at him. ‘But… isn’t that kind of what we’re doing here?’

‘I can defend myself adequately in these lands. I’m just using him as a guide to help me map out the place. I’ve certainly proven my skills, unlike you who got captured.’

‘Are you ever going to stop bringing that up?’

‘No.’ Madara smirked. ‘But we should probably stop talking full stop until we get rid of these weird people. They’re looking at us strangely.’

Sakura looked up, noting the few sets of grey eyes glancing over at where they sat – just a little further away from the pointy-eared people than where the three tiny adults seated themselves. She watched them all curiously, wondering about the strange group.

The one they called Gildor Inglorion kept looking over at both of them, golden hair shining both under the starlight and the warm glow from the fire crackling in the centre of the merry gathering. His gaze made her feel oddly safe, just like the presence of the others whom she presumed to be their kin of some description. Snuggling into Madara’s side, _and only for warmth,_ she watched everything with droopy eyes, the silence surrounding the two of them only broken when food and drink was offered – that which Sakura accepted on both of their behalves, elbowing her companion into compliance once she’d proven there was no poison slipped in. _Well, no fast-acting stuff anyway. _

‘You’re going to die, and I’m going to laugh when that happens,’ Madara signed at her. ‘You’re far too trusting. How did you even make it this far as a shinobi?’

‘I punched everything in my path, and I’ll punch you too, if you don’t shut up.’

Madara just rolled his eyes skyward.

Sakura huffed, using him as a mattress as best she could as she settled down for the night, briefly eyeing Frodo who spoke to the Gildor person late into the night.

Madara glared at Gildor the entire time.


	8. Of Farmers, Mushrooms, and More Company

Frodo wasn’t quite sure what to make of the two small children following after their group of three – five, if he included them, which he didn’t want to. He doubted they were even aware of the danger they were putting themselves in. Black Riders were following them, and Frodo had no doubts they wouldn’t hesitate to kill the little ones. They were even younger than Pippin, who still hadn’t reached his majority, and they weren’t even hobbits. From the size of them they had to be of the race of men, and though Frodo wasn’t too sure when the big people came of age, he was fairly certain it was younger than hobbits. They had slightly shorter lives, rarely reaching the three-digits most of them, so the little ones couldn’t be that old. Their parents were probably looking for them… _well, if they were alive, _he mused, brow furrowing at the thought. _Perhaps Gandalf would know what to do – how to find their home. They were meant to be meeting with him sooner rather than later._

Gildor had told him he would pass on a message to his kin and other possible sources of aid, and had given no straight forward advice on what to do about the two little children following after him. _But then again elves were never straightforward. ‘Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.’ _The words he’d spoken to Gildor last night rang in his ears. The choices were all down to him. He had to decide whether to go or stay. He had to decide what to do with the small innocent lives that had seemingly come into his care.

“What is the plan for today?” Pippin asked, and Frodo looked over at the tree roots the two children were stubbornly sleeping. They hadn’t moved an inch, and he didn’t know whether to be grateful or not. He needed to think. _They needed to cross the river without being seen if at all possible. They were being hunted. _

“To walk to Bucklebury as quickly as possible,” he answered, nibbling at the food the elves had left behind for them, barely resisting the urge to scowl as Pippin peppered him with more questions – he just wanted to eat in peace and think. Think about what to do with the children who’d been left to his care. _He didn’t know whether to include Pippin in that statement too. _“Are you ready to set off?” he asked after some time had passed, having finished their earlier discussions and polished off his breakfast. The two children were up, eyes of bright spring green and the grey of storm clouds looking at him from beneath their hoods. They almost seemed to glow in the light of the morning. _The late morning. They’d slept for too long. _They needed to be on their way. There were many miles still ahead of them.

* * *

Sakura followed their host as they traipsed through forest and field, having left the main path of sorts around these areas far behind as they cut through the thicket. Only to stop when Sam Gamgee stopped to look behind them and make an exclamation of some sorts. Together, both she and Madara glanced back, and her heart pounded frantically at the sight of the black robed figure on a steed of the same colour. Whimpering, she clutched at Madara’s hand, remembering her dream. Sure they hadn’t featured any creepy-looking people on black horses, but the aura that radiated off them and the scary wolves was one and the same. _Evil. _The thought pulsed through her.

_‘The enemy pursues us…’ _Inner whispered, echoing her own thoughts on the matter. _‘We should be careful from here on in, Outer…’_

She didn’t need to be told twice, and a gentle squeeze at her hand brought her out of her thoughts. Sakura blinked, glancing at Madara as he stared straight ahead. ‘Stop freaking out, idiot,’ was signed before she could process what was happening. ‘It’s just a horse and rider.’ She bit her lip. _That was no ordinary horse and rider, that was for sure, and the small adults seemed to agree with her. _

Still, it didn’t stop their walking, nor did it stop their singing and smiling as the day went on. Sakura found herself smiling and humming along with their cheery tune slowly.

At least until Madara signed at her with a smirk. ‘Told you there was something in the water those weird creatures gave us. You’re grinning like an idiot and seem to have forgotten what it is that pursues us.’

A wail came with the wind, and their singing stopped. Shivers ran up her spine, her hand clamping down on Madara’s. _And only because she wanted to cause him pain – not because she was scared like a little girl. _Though in all fairness, it could easily be her smaller body that made it harder to control her reactions to all things scary and spooky.

‘Come on.’ Madara tightened his own grip on her hand, following after their guides as they continued, their singing halted, their faces grim as they exited the wood. ‘We can’t afford to get lost here… Though I doubt they’d intentionally leave us behind, being as small as we are.’

Mindlessly, Sakura trudged forwards. She was cold, slightly sweaty, and she hadn’t had a decent bath that morning. She hadn’t had any sort of bath that morning, and she felt horrible for it. _Why hadn’t they stayed in the home? _Her shoulders sunk.

_‘Probably would’ve been worse to just hang around there,’ _Inner chimed in. _‘There’s something hunting us and the ones leading us. Staying in that home, no matter how cosy it was, would’ve led them straight to us.’_

_Good point, _Sakura mused to herself, blinking as they eventually arrived outside a gate to a farm of sorts. Clearly, the strange small people knew each other, since there was somebody there to welcome them into the house in the midst of it all. _But they weren’t seemingly going to stay there. _Not in the nice safe-looking farmer’s house. Sighing quietly, she held Madara’s hand as the conversation they couldn’t quite understand flew over their heads. Her companion was seemingly doing his best to get the gist of things, and Sakura was content to let him. _No matter how much he’d hold it over her head. _Trying to wrap her head around everything only gave her a headache.

Sakura tuned everything out, eating dinner with the other small adults, staring out into space even as she held onto Madara’s hand like a lifeline. The world was a scary big place with strange things afoot. Sakura only hoped their guides were heading somewhere safe. She didn’t particularly want to die anytime soon, even if she couldn’t get home. _The unease and sense of not belonging had vanished, and it made her feel oddly relieved, even if she missed her friends dearly. Besides,_ she glanced sideways, _if Madara was with her, then he couldn’t be causing havoc in the Elemental Nations. _That was a benefit of her rather alarming situation, even if she was clinging to him in some way shape or form in order to survival. _It was only for survival. She still detested him to the very bone._

She didn’t complain when he tugged sharply on her hand, yanking her out of her daydreams as he led her towards a cart drawn by a pony of some description. The other three small adults were also climbing in, so they had to as well. Frodo was their best hope for continued survival – he and the blondish one seemed to care enough about their wellbeing for that. _They’d made sure they ate – offering food and drink to them, as well as stopping to rest probably a little more than they should have._

Yawning, she sat there in the cart, plastered to Madara’s side. _He was slightly more comfortable than the hard wood, so she made the most of it. _Her ears twitched, a faint constant _clop-clop _sound reaching her as she sat next to her companion who seemed to have mastered the art of sleeping while remaining aware of his surroundings. _It was another part of their weird not-quite sleep they always fell into. They always remained aware of the things going on around them – the only difference being that Madara could react to stimuli much faster than she in that state. She was as slow as a snail when it came to that._

Around them, the small people tensed as their ears too caught wind of the sound, and then Frodo was being covered with blankets as his own companions addressed the rider. _Silently, Sakura prayed it wasn’t the same one that had been following them with what she believed to be malicious intentions. _

Sakura tightened her grasp on Madara’s arm, heart pounding as she felt the tension thick in the air around them. Blinking a couple of times, she kept her gaze fixed on the foggy figure, relief sweeping through her as Frodo and Sam relaxed and called out to the figure in friendly voices.

Evidently, the other small adult was friend not foe, and their guides climbed from the cart to greet the one called Merry. Sakura shook Madara awake, all but kicking him off the cart, a scowl curling at her lips when he rolled like the well-trained shinobi he was to soften the impact. He brushed off the dust and muck, smirking at her as she hopped down and stomped over towards their guides, clutching to Frodo’s cloak when Merry’s eyes turned on her even as Frodo was given a basket of what smelt like food of the mushroom variety.

‘Don’t get distracted by your stomach, idiot,’ Madara signed. ‘We ate only a short while ago.’

‘It smells nice is all,’ she replied, glaring at him in the darkness. Night had well and truly fallen, and they were still travelling – a testament to the importance of their host’s mission, or whatever the journey was.

‘Come on.’ He grabbed her hand, pulling her forwards as she realised Frodo’s cloak had slipped from her grasp, and their guides were setting off. They headed down a neat lane edged with pale white stones. It was well kept, and well used, the reason for which they both soon spotted as the ferry of sorts came into view. ‘Looks like we’re crossing the river.’

‘No kidding. I really hadn’t figured that one out,’ she signed back, rolling her eyes. _She wasn’t stupid. _

_‘That’s right!’ _Inner agreed.

Madara elbowed her sharply, all but dragging her forwards and onto the ferry as Merry dealt with his pony. They were crossing the river, leaving pretty much everything even vaguely familiar behind them. Sakura swallowed, glancing back at the way they’d come from, staring up at the pale moonlight shining beyond the hill. The moon there was so very pretty, casting a scant amount of light for her to see the wolf-like figure on the hilltop before its howl pierced the night.


	9. Yet Another Forest

The path beneath their feet was well trodden, and the civilisation that soon surrounded them looked vaguely similar to the one they’d seen upon entering Frodo’s home. _Evidently their guide and host was rather rich for a small adult, given he seemed to have a second home. _A place Sakura assumed to be called ‘Crickhollow’ given how often it came up in the conversation. _She was getting fairly good at picking out the names of people and places. _Sakura glanced over at Madara, biting her lip at the unchanged expression on his face as they settled into Crickhollow for the night, and she soon found the reason for that.

‘They might try and leave us behind,’ Madara signed, sitting down on a mattress in the room. The small adults had been deep in conversation, and Sakura had caught them glancing and gesturing towards the pair of them on occasion before they’d decided to call it a night and get some rest. ‘We are small to them, and they seem to be caught up in something rather dangerous.’

‘They can’t leave us,’ she signed back, turning to look at Pippin and Merry who seemed to be sharing the room with them – hence their need for signs rather than the quiet murmuring they usually did before they went to bed. _It also meant they had to keep their hoods up, lest they want their pointed ears to be discovered._

‘Then get to sleep. I’ll wake you if they seem to be leaving. We’re always fairly aware of our surroundings when we sleep. Well, I am, anyway.’

Sakura rolled her eyes and snorted, slumping down on the bed next to Madara, not making a single complaint as he threw a leg over her own and pulled her close. _They couldn’t allow their hoods or something of the like to fall while they slept, nor could they trust the two mischievous-looking small adults with whom they had to share a room. _They seemed to be the type for pulling pranks, and Sakura knew they couldn’t afford to have any pulled on them. _They didn’t want any scary people coming after them because of their ears. They didn’t want to be left behind because of them either. _Though Madara had refused to let them talk with the nice-looking people who had the same ears as them. _Stupid paranoid shinobi. _Sakura let out a sigh, snuggling further into Madara’s warmth.

_It made her feel that much safer, with those arms wrapped around her – a reminder she wasn’t alone._

She woke up to those same arms curled tightly around her, before she rolled out of bed and got ready alongside Merry and Pippin. _They wouldn’t be leaving them behind. She’d make sure of it. _Frodo was theirs. He was their guide, their anchor in their new confusing world, and without him they’d be lost. _They couldn’t understand anything anybody said. _Well, aside from the words those friendly-looking pointy-eared had spoken… but _somebody_ hadn’t let her talk to them – not even to gather information. She glared over at Madara, quickly looking away when she spotted his bedhead which thankfully concealed his ears. _Madara didn’t have to worry about a hood with a mane like that. _Sakura rolled her eyes, hurrying out to obtain breakfast from Frodo or Sam, sighing quietly as she felt Madara’s presence close behind her. _Like a second shadow. _

_A cute second shadow. _Sakura shook her head viciously, trying to clear the image of an even more messy-haired Madara yawning. _Criminals weren’t meant to look so darn cute. _

It was still early when they left the homely hole under the hill, meaning Sakura had to be careful about looking at Madara. _Especially when he yawned. _Sakura yawned, all her adorableness concealed by the hood pulled over her head. _Not that it would have any effect on Madara. _He was terrifying enough that he could weaponize his cuteness and use it against her. _She wouldn’t fall for the trap though. _

Scowling, she turned her head away from him, clinging to Frodo’s cloak as they walked towards yet another forest. Only this one looked twice as terrifying to her tiny body. The colouring of the wooden trunks and branches was darker than she was familiar with, the leaves over their heads dense and not allowing much light to slip through, aside from the occasional patch of warm sunlight or two. _But she was a shinobi of Konoha, and they loved trees, so onwards it was. _She wasn’t about to give Madara another reason to poke fun at her. She was a strong, fearless—

_Creak._

Her hand found Madara’s in a flash, eyes darting about as she caught wind of whispers in the forest. They were eerie things, filling her mind, seeping into her… _but something repelled them against influencing her. _

‘It’s a forest, imbecile,’ Madara signed, looking utterly exasperated with her. ‘Stop being a damned scaredy-cat and grow a spine already.’

Sakura scowled, letting go of Frodo’s cloak, slamming a tiny fist into Madara’s stomach. Madara raised an eyebrow, utterly unaffected by her strike, and Sakura pouted. _Sometimes she hated losing her chakra… but maybe it was a good thing. _After all, Madara had lost his too, which meant no sharingan with which to anticipate all her moves or force her into a genjutsu.

Madara yawned again, and Sakura looked straight ahead. _She wouldn’t fall for his act. _The small adults were all yawning too. _Clearly they hadn’t got much sleep the night before. _Sakura smirked, folding her arms. _She and Madara didn’t require as much sleep, so they’d be fine. _Madara’s grip loosened on her hand, and Sakura glanced back, brow furrowing as he yawned yet again. _Well, clearly she was just superior to Madara in some respect._

_‘That’s right!’ _Inner said, and Sakura could almost see her punching a fist to the sky. _‘We’re awesome! And the trees around us know it too…’_

Sakura froze, blinking as two of the small adults stopped to lean back against an old willow tree. The sounds of trees singing in her ears only grew that much greater, and a bolt of realisation struck through her. _It sounded like a lullaby. _Her eyes narrowed, letting go of Madara’s hand as two cracks opened up in the roots, swallowing up the two small adults. _What was going on? _Sakura blinked, unsure if she should venture closer to the tree which seemed to radiate some sort of deep anger and hatred. _Like a crotchety old man. _A smile pulled at her lips. _Like Madara. _She stared at the roots, tiptoeing closer, noting how the other two small adults were nowhere in sight. _She needed to do something – being the only one with Mokuton. _Madara had seemingly lost his affinity with trees when he came to their new world, not that it stopped him from curling up by the old willow’s roots—

“Madara, no!” she hissed, reaching out for him, but it was too late. Roots curled around him, dragging him deeper. _Out of her reach. _He was out of her reach, asleep underneath a mean tree. _She was alone again. _Her arms curled around herself, and Sakura realised just how reliant on Madara she’d become. _He’d been her support in that world, and if anything happened to her, he’d be there – if only because she was his clue to finding his way home. _He was stronger than her too, and _loathe she admit it_, slightly better at piecing everything together. _And now he was gone. _Her teeth clenched. _He’d been taken from her by an angry tree. _A tree who had no reason to hate him, unlike the forests back home. _Though to be honest, they’d just thought him an idiot – something Sakura sorely agreed on. _“Idiot,” she muttered, looking frantically around for the other two small adults, but they were nowhere in sight. _She was on her own. _And suddenly the forest seemed that much larger and that much more scary. _These trees weren’t the same as the ones she’d made friends with back home. They might not listen to her, and the old willow tree definitely wouldn’t. _Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

_She was helpless. Alone. Lost._

She wanted Madara back. Even if he was the scourge of the Elemental Nations, here he was her companion. _It didn’t matter how irritating he was at times. _Older siblings could be irritating sometimes – she’d learnt that from her friends – but that didn’t mean they weren’t wanted. _Not that she viewed Madara as just that. _Her hands curled into fists, falling to her sides as she glared at the tree in front of her. _It had taken him from her. _She beat at the wood with her tiny fists, irritation clawing at her gut as she did nothing except make the roots shift towards her instead. _But she had control over wood… she had to. Why else would she still have been able to hear and understand the whispering of the forest otherwise? _“No!” she snarled, smacking the bark yet again. “You let him go!”

But the tree didn’t listen. Sakura roared, the sound pathetic and feeble with her childish body. Tears leaked down her face, wincing as roots curled around her tiny waist and started to squeeze. _It hurt. It hurt so much.  
_

_‘Bastard…’ _Inner muttered. _‘How dare a mere Huorn…’_

Sakura blinked, too busy whimpering as the tree root squeezed her like a constrictor snake to really listen to Inner's words. _She hated snakes. _“Who cares about me?” she muttered, rage surging inside, the sound of her heartbeat pumping in her ears, and the tree roots loosened their grip on her. “Give him back…” she hissed, prying herself free of the roots that had once kept her captive. “He’s mine.”

_‘Ours,’ _Inner murmured. _‘Our protector. We brought him back. He is ours.’_

Inner’s words barely registered, something stirring in her gut as her eyes narrowed into slits, green irises glinting in the light. “Let him go,” she demanded, fire burning in her gut, clawing its way up her throat. “I said… **_Let him go!_**”

The words that escaped her lips sounded different to the ones she usually spoke – older somehow, and with age came power – and Sakura closed her eyes in confusion, only opening them again when she heard the roots shift. Madara fell out from the gap that had suddenly appeared, and she wasted no time in pulling him away from the mean tree. Voices sounded behind her, the small adults calling to one another from outside and inside the tree roots, but Sakura paid them no heed. _Madara was there. Madara was back. _A small smile lit her face, and something wet and warm trickled down from her nose.

Storm grey eyes flickered open, and Sakura sighed in relief as Madara stumbled back to his feet. “What happened?” he demanded, speaking in furious hushed tones, hands reaching out for her – and Sakura realised she was swaying on her feet.

Her smile only widened, the ringing in her head growing louder as the fire that had rose inside her faded away, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. “You’re OK…” she breathed, staring into those confused eyes of his. “You’re OK…”

“You’re making no sense…” he hissed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Blearily, she stared at him, a small giggle escaping her lips as black spots dotted her vision. Madara was back, and he’d look after her now. He was her shield, and her companion in her new confusingly terrifying world. _He couldn’t leave her again. _She couldn’t leave him either. _She still remembered just how helpless she’d been against those men who’d captured her. _Madara had freed her, despite how gruff and grumpy he was… _just like how she’d always pictured a big brother to be. _She’d always wanted one. Someone to call _nii-san. _“Brother,” she slurred, wrapping her arms around his neck, giggling once again as darkness took her, and Sakura knew no more.


	10. In the House of Tom Bombadil

Sakura groaned as awareness flooded through her, bringing with it a mountain of a headache. _What had happened to give her that bad of a headache? _Her mind was fuzzy with the aftereffects of sleep, and it was only the small hand closed around her own that kept her grounded. Half of her wanted to try and go back to sleep, and the other part was far more curious about what was going on around her. She opened her eyes a slit, noting the warm glow around her that was most definitely not the sun. The softness of the mattress underneath her told her other stories. _Had they finally gotten out of the forest? Away from that mean willow tree…_ Sakura scowled at the memory of the mean tree, and she sat bolt upright, wincing as her nose slammed into something hard, warm, and covered in fluffy black hair. Blinking, Sakura rubbed at her sore nose, glaring at the side of Madara’s head. _Why was the idiot sitting so close to her? _

“So the little lady awakens finally,” a voice chirped, sounding oddly cheery, and nothing at all like Madara’s various grunts and hisses.

Madara shoved a glass and some herbs into her hands. “Drink. Now, idiot,” he ordered gruffly. Sakura raised an eyebrow, parting her lips to ask a question, and Madara took the opportunity to shove the handful of herbs into her mouth along with a glug of water. “_Swallow. Now,”_ he hissed, and Sakura obeyed – though not without a glare sent in his direction.

“Might I ask what the hell you just gave me?” she questioned, grabbing him by the shirt, glaring at him even as water dribbled from the corners of her lips.

“Nothing poisonous, imbecile,” Madara said, folding his arms even as he shook her loose from his clothing. “They’re what the man over there gave me… he said you’d need them, and I have already confirmed they weren’t poisonous,” he grumbled, looking over towards the window of the small guestroom they were situated in.

Sakura blinked, finally taking in the visage of the older man perched in the armchair beside the bed both she and Madara were sitting on – Sakura having been tucked in, while Madara sat with his short legs dangling over the side. _Oddly adorable, and probably rather embarrassing, _Sakura thought with a grin.

“I mean you both no harm, just as I mean your travelling companions no harm,” he said, smiling cheerily at them. “Little lady, I am Tom Bombadil, and you currently reside in this house of mine as a guest.”

Madara scoffed. “You were far more cryptic when I asked you,” he muttered with a huff, and Sakura relaxed, the pounding in her head fading, and she finally realised something.

“You can speak in our language!” Sakura cried, turning on the brown-haired man in bright blue robes and yellow boots.

Madara rolled his eyes. “State the obvious why don’t you, idiot,” he hissed, glaring at her witheringly, but she was far too accustomed to that stare by that point. _She’d slept beside him, and she’d seen his relaxed sleeping face… and there was no going back from that point forwards. _“I, for one, am more curious about what he knows about our situation. He is being annoyingly cryptic, but he knows something.” Madara bit his lip, turning his glare of daggers onto one Tom Bombadil instead. _Who was apparently immune to Madara’s cute glares. _“I had both our ears covered when I carried you here—”

“You carried me here?”

“_Shut up! _Of course I wasn’t going to let one of my clues to getting home fall into the wrong hands,” Madara hissed, and Sakura was fairly sure she could spy the burning red of the tips of his ears. “Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Aww…”

Madara threw a pillow at her, soon resuming his glaring session at Tom. “You have to at least tell us something,” he grumbled, and Sakura frowned at how childish it came across. _Perhaps their pint-sized bodies were affecting them more than they thought, and wasn’t that a worrying thought? _“How else are we meant to get home?”

One bushy brown eyebrow rose. “How indeed…” he murmured. “It is not everyday one meets two little void-born elflings.”

Sakura’s brow furrowed. “Void-born?”

“Elflings?” Madara echoed. “So that is our race…”

“The race of elves, young lad,” Tom said, ignoring the glare he received in answer. “The Eldar is what they commonly refer to themselves as, and there is little doubt you will eventually encounter your kin in these lands.”

“Do they hold the answers to getting us back to our home?” Madara pressed, leaning forwards, and Sakura found herself struggling to stop the giggling that threatened to burst from her lips. _She could just picture a little dog’s tail waving back and forth._

“The stars would not have guided you here, nor given you those forms if you truly belonged at this place you call home,” he said, climbing to his feet. “But that is all I think I will say. Now, fear nothing. Have peace until the morning! Heed no nightly noises!” he spoke, opening the door and slipping out before either of them could get another word out in protest.

Sakura felt oddly safe there in the house, sleep pulling at her eyelids despite the short time in which she’d been awake. She was just fortunate she didn’t seem to be hungry, since she’d clearly missed supper. “I don’t think we’re going back…” she mumbled, the realisation making her stomach sink like a rock. _But there was a part of her that leapt with joy too, despite the hardships of their new world. _“You were meant to be dead… it’s only by the Edo Tensei that you were there, and it’s unnatural…”

“So I’m just supposed to give up like that?” Madara spat, rounding on her, grabbing her by the shoulders as he looked her in the eye. “I’ve spent years working towards finally attaining true peace, and I will not have it snatch away like… _like this!”_

Sakura only sighed, flopping back on the bed. “Do you simply want the glory of saving the world, as you put it, or are you after the peace?” she asked, staring up at the ceiling, glad it was free of spiders and cobwebs unlike the tents they’d used in the wars. She didn’t like it when they crawled over her, nor did she like how difficult cobwebs were to remove. “Because all five countries have allied to get rid of you… and that means even if we’re both… _lost_… then there’ll at least be a semblance of peace.”

“A semblance of peace.” Madara scoffed. “That’s all everything ever amounts to. It’s why the world needs Infinite Tsukuyomi!”

A louder sigh escaped her. “Tch. If your ‘Infinite Tsukuyomi’ really is the best plan for peace, then don’t you think someone else can find it and complete it. Why does it have to be you? There’s a reason you took Obito in.”

“And in case you forgot he’s been brainwashed by that blonde jinchuuriki brat—”

“His name is Naruto, and you know it,” Sakura said, glancing over at him as he continued sitting on the edge of the bed.

“So there’s no hope for him—”

“Should’ve picked a better disciple… or maybe not have arranged for the love of your disciple’s life to be killed before his very eyes. That tends to breed resentment and make people not want to follow you.”

“Just shut up and go to sleep already,” Madara grumbled, pushing himself off the bed and hopping into the spacious armchair to curl up on. “I can’t be bothered to ask how you know this… knowing you you’ll just reply with ‘the trees told me so’, and that’s utterly ridiculous.”

Sakura blinked, staring between the bed and the armchair. “The bed would probably be more comfy,” she said. “And in case you forgot, a tree swallowed you of its own volition today, so I think there’s more to trees than you know. Plus I’ve already told you my theories about my mokuton being based from this world, which would make it different and far more awesome than Hashirama’s and your mockery of it.”

“Shut up and go to sleep, brat,” he ordered, annoyance lining his voice as he pressed his face into the pillow of the armchair.

She pouted, rolling over on the bed, facing the wall, mentally counting sheep as she tried to urge herself to sleep. _To sleep without that familiar weight grasping at her tightly. _A blush rose in her cheeks, and Sakura pulled the blanket over her head. Everything was fine. _She could get to sleep no problem. Absolutely no problem. _

The moon rose higher in the sky, and Sakura continued twisting and turning occasionally, scowling when she heard the soft tell-tale puff sounds. _The bastard had already fallen asleep._

Sakura wasn’t exactly too sure when she decided it was time for her to reclaim her elfling mattress, _but enough was enough, _and soon she was stomping over to the armchair. _He was hers. _Madara had done it plenty of times to her, so it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise when she plonked herself down on top of him. He woke with a grunt, and Sakura wasted no time in getting comfy, head nuzzling in Madara’s chest as she burrowed into him. “I’m not moving, unless we’re both going back to the bed, dimwit,” she grumbled even as he groaned in irritation.

“I thought you’d be glad to be free of my company,” Madara muttered, soon sliding out from the uncomfortable position under her, walking back over to the bed. Sakura wasted no time in following.

“You’re a half-decent mattress,” she said, hopping back atop the bed, reclaiming her position on top of him, resting her head on his chest yet again. “That’s all. Nothing more to it.”

“Funny. I don’t believe that in the slightest,” he said, staring up at the ceiling as they basked in the soft moonlight streaming through the window. “You did call me brother, after all.”

Sakura jolted. “_No I did not,” _she hissed, cheeks flushing bright red. “Besides, I was clearly tired and half delirious!”

“Isn’t that basically you admitting to saying it?”

The heat in her cheeks rose yet another notch. “Of course I damn well didn’t!”

“Hn.” Madara’s chest rumbled underneath her ear, the steady beat of his heart like a lullaby as she snuggled into the idiot who’d accompanied her in her apparent trip across the stars. _Where their so-called home was, Sakura had no idea anymore. _Nothing made sense for her, even with that weird sense of familiarity and belonging she had with the new place. _She doubted anything made sense to Madara either. _She was glad she wasn’t alone though. It was nice to feel another person’s warmth. “Don’t ever call me that again,” he ordered, voice cold, any trace of humour or mocking vanished in an instant. “You hear me?”

Sakura scoffed. “It’s not like I was planning on it, bastard,” she muttered, voice muffled by Madara’s chest. _It was squishier with less muscle than what he’d had as a human adult, and it made for an excellent pillow and mattress combined into one. _

“Good.”

* * *

They stayed in the House of Tom Bombadil for another day and night, but there were no more answers or cryptic clues about their origins or the method through which they’d found themselves there. Madara was forced to give up, and the pair of them and their four travelling companions headed back out.

But that wasn’t the last they saw of Tom Bombadil for he came for them when they found themselves in a strange fog in a strange place. His songs seemingly held some sort of power, and Sakura ignored the weird feeling of rightness that welled up inside her. _Music was for creation. _Madara didn’t dare to press him for any more answers though – not with the four little adults present. Sakura wondered if they’d ever see him again, if Frodo would summon him with that song again, but the walls of a village that rose in front of them silently told her that Tom wouldn’t venture there. _That was the last they’d seen of the jolly fellow._

Clutching Madara’s hand, Sakura followed after the little adults, careful to keep pace with them as they eventually made their way through the gates and into the village – stopping only once they reached a building that Sakura guessed to be an inn of some description.

An inn with a sign that looked like a prancing pony.


	11. The Scruffy Ranger Called Strider

The inn was warm and lively, and there were many guests in what Sakura was now calling The Pony Inn. She clutched Madara’s hand, careful not to get separated, especially since they were so small, and the adults were so big. Though there were a few little adults here and there, like the ones they were travelling with – and they seemed to receive their little adults fairly well. Sakura presumed Frodo to be ordering accommodation and food for however many nights they were due to stay. It wasn’t too bad of a place, she decided. It certainly beat sleeping on the forest floor, if only because then Madara would use her as a mattress rather than it being the other way around. _Madara was sinfully comfy, and Sakura wasn’t too sure how she felt about that fact. _His hand was slightly warm and sweaty in her grasp, but she made sure not to let it slip from her hold. _She couldn’t lose him again. _She could still remember the fear she’d felt when the tree had swallowed him, _and this time there’d be no Tom Bombadil to save them. _

Sakura eyed the inn, watching as Madara did the same, albeit much more thoroughly.

‘Danger?’ she inquired, curious as to whether he’d sighted any potential threats she hadn’t.

‘Man. Corner,” Madara gestured sharply, drawing her attention to the scruffy-looking man who was eyeing their party with thinly concealed interest. _Though he was focused more on the small adults rather than the pair of them. _

‘He looks scary,’ Sakura mused, and Madara sighed deeply, pulling her closer until their shoulders were touching. ‘Think he’ll try something?’

‘Possibly. Keep a watch on him.’

Sakura startled as he let go of her hand abruptly, scrambling to grab a hold of his shoulder. ‘Where are you going?’

Madara threw off her hand. ‘To relieve myself,’ he signed furiously, skin flushing red, and Sakura dropped her arm back to her side as though she’d been stung. She blushed, knowing she could hardly follow him to the bathroom and back. That would be far too weird. Instead, she simply stayed there, listening as they sang songs and drank beer, blinking when Frodo vanished all of a sudden. Frodo and Madara were both gone, and Sakura pouted. _She was fine. Absolutely fine. _Her gaze drifted over to the scruffy man, and she blinked in surprise when she soon after spotted Frodo speaking with the man. _The same Frodo who’d mysteriously vanished. _Had the scruffy man been involved in that? She could only wonder, being unable to understand a single word they spoke as she sidled closer towards them.

Madara appeared next to her then, as quiet as a ghost, and Sakura almost jumped at the welcome sight of him. ‘He’s made his move,’ Madara told her, as if she couldn’t see that fact herself, and she rolled her eyes.

She wasn’t that oblivious. ‘No kidding. Do we follow?’

He nodded, and Sakura grabbed a hold of his hand again as they hurried after where the strange man was taking their all-important travelling companion. Together they followed, and eventually they were joined by their other travelling companions who went to confront the scruffy man in front of them.

Their interaction was strange, but the two shinobi-turned-baby-elves hung back, uncertain of what to do. _Language barriers were such a pain. _At least in the Elemental Nations there was one common tongue between them. Here that wasn’t the case.

Sakura could only watch the conversation go on, relaxing ever so slightly when the small adults did. _The scruffy man didn’t seem to be a threat. _Not that Madara relaxed his guard in the slightest, small sharp eyes fixed on all the weapons the man had about his person. _Was he some sort of warrior here? _Sakura mused, tilting her head as she evaluated the man quietly – her companion no doubt doing the same. _But Madara was better at it. He always was. That was why she needed him. _

The scruffy man turned to them all of a sudden, casting his eyes over their slight forms, barking a question at Frodo, turning his attention back on the small adult. Sakura knew it was probably to do with them. _They were children, after all, and Frodo’s journey wasn’t seeming to be one usually undertook, if the man’s reaction and their pursuers was anything to go by. _Sakura bit her lip, blinking as another big man came into the room, bearing a letter which he soon gave to Frodo.

Not that he could leave, as the scruffy man – whom Sakura thought to be called ‘Strider’ given how often that word had popped up while they were speaking. It cropped up with another word too, but Sakura thought ‘Strider’ sounded more correct for some reason – stopped the man from exiting the room.

The pair engaged in another conversation, and she was almost certain they were the topic of conversation, given the amount of gestures towards the pair of them as they stood there, confused. Madara’s grip on her hand tightened, eyes narrowed as the Strider fellow handed over a pouch of coin to the man, pointing at them all the while. _Had they been sold off or something? _Sakura felt her brow furrow, and then the big man gestured for them to follow him.

‘Should we go?’ Sakura signed, aware of Strider’s curious gaze on her hand as she moved it in their familiar sign language.

Madara nodded, pulling her along behind him as they followed whom Sakura identified to be the innkeeper of sorts. They were led to another room, this one with two small beds. _Had Strider paid for another room for the pair of them? _she wondered, poking at the mattress, smiling at the softness of it. _Perhaps the scruffy man hadn’t wanted them listening in? Was it a topic only for adults? _The big adult spoke to them again in that unfamiliar language, and then he left them there.

“What was that about?” Sakura finally asked out loud, staring at the door they’d been led through only minutes before. “Why did that Strider guy get us a new room?”

Madara only ventured to the window, eyebrows lowered, stormy eyes narrowed as he stared at the street below. “I am not certain…” he mumbled. “But I have my guesses,” he said, pointing towards the bed on the left side of the room as the evening light faded. “We should sleep… We may have to be up early tomorrow.”

Huffing, Sakura clambered over to the bed he’d pointed at, glaring at the idiot until he joined her under the blanket. Rest didn’t come as easily as it had to her previously, and anxious gnawing at her gut keeping her awake, tossing and turning much to Madara’s annoyance as they snuggled together under the blankets and quilts.

“Sleep, idiot. I will not let anything happen.”

Scowling, Sakura pressed her face against his chest, fingers clawing for purchase as she wrapped him in a hug, relaxing in the fact that she wasn’t alone. _And if she had her way, she never would be. At least not until she was strong enough to defend herself from all the threats of their new world._

Morning rolled around sooner rather than later, and their travelling companions were suspiciously absent. They hadn’t come to wake them or anything, and Sakura was growing impatient. Both she and Madara had woken earlier than usual, just in case they’d have to rush to pack up there things and leave, but there’d been no movement as of yet.

“Tch.” Madara folded his arms. “I guess my suspicions weren’t incorrect,” he muttered as time ticked on around them. “Gather your things.”

“Huh?” Sakura glanced at him, demanding answers as she pulled her pack onto her back. “What’s going on?”

“They intend to leave us behind,” he informed, leading her towards the room they had been in the evening before. “Scratch that,” Madara said, scowling something fierce at the empty room they were greeted with. “They have left us behind.”

“What?”

“The journey… they must’ve thought it too difficult for us, or perhaps too dangerous… or mayhaps that we would just slow them down,” he said, chewing on his lip for a few moments before he grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind him as he snuck down the stairs and back into the main bar area.

“What are you doing?” she asked, keeping her voice quiet in the hubbub around them as they snuck towards the front door of the establishment. “Where are we going?”

“After them, of course,” Madara whisper hissed, and she found she had no complaints. _She wanted to catch up to Frodo too. He was the sole person she trusted in their strange new world… and that mean Strider had clearly made him leave them behind_. “Wherever they are headed is more likely to have answers about how to get us home rather than this civilian village,” he said, gesturing sharply with his hands once more as they entered the quiet street. It was morning, so there were few travellers or villagers out on the roads, and Sakura was grateful for that fact. _She didn’t like the stares the pair of them seemed to earn from all the adults._

‘How do we even know where they’ve gone?” Sakura signed at him sharply, glancing around as Madara led them through the village, and further and further away from the gate through which they’d entered.

‘There’s a wonderful thing called tracking,” Madara replied, just as snarly as ever. ‘Of course it seems as though you’ll be incapable of this.’

Sakura scowled, elbowing him in the gut as they trekked through the muddy streets. Hairs pricked the back of her neck, and she glanced around, trusting her companion briefly to not let her walk into anything or anyone as she searched for the source of her unease. _Only to hear screams behind her in the village, along with loud shrieks. _

And then a loud howl pierced the early morning skies.

It was close too. Inside the village of Bree even.

_She recognised that howl too._

Sakura bolted forwards, heart thudding in her chest as her sharp pointy ears caught the sounds of paws trudging through the mud a ways behind them. “Run, Madara,” she hissed, jerking her arm to make him hurry the hell up as she made for the open gate in front of them. “They’re here… the wolves are here…”

“What?” Madara looked up at her sharply even as she pulled him into the forest. “What are you going on about?”

“Remember, you big idiot,” she hissed, fear making her legs move that much faster, all but leaping into the shallow river, praying they’d somehow be able to throw their own pursuers off their trail. “There were wolves when we crossed the ferry… and my dream that time…” she panted, tiny feet aching as she ran recklessly through the forest, feet guided by an unknown source. “The weird person I dreamt about sent them to look for a _vessel_.”

“You aren’t making any sense!”

“Ugh.” Sakura skidded to a stop, thankful for the lack of howls behind them. _Perhaps those wolves were searching the village still. _She could only hope. “Those wolves were sent by an enemy to search for something called an _empty vessel_ and I can only guess it likely has something to do with us, given I had a nightmare about it… which in hindsight might have been something closer to a vision.”

“So now you’re claiming to be special, huh?” Madara’s eyebrows rose to his hairline, clearly disbelieving and she was torn between wanting to bash his skull, and the reasonable part of her that said she sounded a bit farfetched.

_‘We are special, Shannaro!’_

“Tch. Does it matter either way?” she questioned, tugging on his hand. “Those wolves are after us, or something on our persons… not to mention we have a group of small adults to catch up with. We can catch up to them and evade those scary wolves at the same time.”

“And you might have somehow, miraculously helped with that,” Madara mumbled, pointing at the boot print in the wet mud, and Sakura blinked at the other tell-tale signs of bare feet in the sodden ground. _They were fortunate it was damp enough for tracks to be left. _“Come on. We have people to be catching up with.”

“Think we’ll surprise them?” Sakura found herself asking as her more skilled companion quickly picked up the trail and the direction their travelling companions had headed in.

Madara snorted. “Most definitely.”


	12. Catching Up to the Company

The trail left behind was easy enough to follow, mainly for all the lack of trying to cover it up, though it certainly seemed like the person who wore shoes was not trying to make it all that easy for any potential trackers chasing after them. It was a mixture of her uncanny luck and Madara’s superb tracking skills that made it possible for them to follow the group of small adults and the big one who’d made them leave the pair behind. _Frodo wouldn’t have abandoned them otherwise, that much she was certain of. _Her eyes narrowed as the light faded, making harder for them both to see, and eventually they decided to call it a night – not wanting to lose the trail they’d tracked so very carefully that day.

Madara woke her as the first rays of light hit them, and then they were off again. They didn’t stop walking either, knowing the adults, even the small ones, had longer legs than them and already had a head start on them. _Though they couldn’t have been more than a half a day behind them at most, but they were annoyingly short, with matching legs for show. _

Sakura only hoped they caught up sooner rather than later. Every time she heard the sounds of wolves baying, she wished she was someplace safe, snuggled up under a warm duvet. _Perhaps with Madara there too. _

“Do you think we will ever catch up?” Sakura mumbled on their fifth day on lonely trekking through the wilderness. She felt slightly chilly by now, her cloak damp, her clothes and body unwashed. _Sakura was fairly sure she stank something awful by that point in time. _Though it didn’t stop her from cuddling up to Madara when nightfall came.

“Of course, now stop your blathering already,” Madara grumbled, and Sakura snuggled into his back as they slept atop the branches. There was no way in hell she was going to be sleeping on the ground with those wolves on the prowl. Her longsuffering companion seemingly agreed with her on that note.

They woke once again the next morning, bright and early and ready to face the day. They seemingly had the energy of the undersized bodies they were stuck in, which was rather helpful more often than not, and helped her to irritate Madara at times. Still, it was on the sixth day that they finally caught sight of the illusive company they were tracking. Early in the morning was when they first saw the group of five – four little adults and one much rather taller one. It made for an interesting and very welcome sight. Though despite Sakura’s desperate running, they didn’t reach their travelling companions until noon. _But that might have been since Madara was a complete deadweight who didn’t want to waste any more energy by running no matter how high the temptation was to give in to the childish impulses ingrained in their bodies. _

It was on that same day that they saw the strange ruins too, though Sakura’s attention was otherwise occupied as they neared the small adults, her sharp green eyes long having been locked on his familiar form.

With a wordless cry, she charged forwards, ignoring how they all seemed to freeze. At least until she tackled Frodo with a hug, releasing him as Madara came up behind her and pointedly pulled at her arm. Smiling up at him, she twisted her fingers in his cloak, vowing to never let it out of her sight for a single moment.

Madara folded his arms with a huff, glaring at Frodo out of the corner of his eye for a few moments until the big Strider fellow came over to them, speaking rapidly in that language neither of them could understand. His words sounded scolding, a hand running through his greasy dark mess of hair, and Madara placed himself between them, blocking her from his sight as he glared at the taller man. His voice changed then, a tone Sakura identified as an attempt to be vaguely comforting slipping in to those words she had no idea of the meaning behind.

‘Guess he thought it too dangerous,’ Sakura signed, and Madara clutched at her hand, still glaring at Strider as the company began moving again. He kept a hold of her hand too, until the sun was on the horizon and they were making camp. Strider was still speaking in worried tones, all words neither of them could understand, so there weren’t sure as to what was going on – only that they were staying there for the night, in that most sheltered part of the dell. Dinner was passed out eventually, and Sakura took their share, offering half out to Madara with a smile as they camped out under the stars. It was a beautiful place, and it would’ve been peaceful and idyllic had they both not remembered that an enemy pursued them all. The wolves hunted them, and they weren’t sure of whom or what Frodo’s enemies were.

She wasn’t too sure of how much time passed, but Strider’s singing certainly made things slightly more bearable as the night went on. Madara stirred next to her, standing after a short while. ‘Where are you going?’ she asked, hand only visible by the light of the fire and the light of the rising moon.

‘Toilet,’ he signed by way of explanation, and Sakura pulled herself to her feet, grabbing his hand.

‘Need to go too,’ she said by way of explanation, ignoring the warning note in Strider’s voice as they wandered towards the nearest part of shelter by way of a small cluster of trees on the slope leading to the dell they were camped in. The sounds of the campfire and the talking of the small adults and Strider faded as they edged into the little forest area. “I’ll go left, you go right?” Sakura murmured now they weren’t about to be overheard. _She didn’t particularly want Madara to watch her squatting either, and she doubted he wanted her to watch him either, _so it didn’t come as much of a surprise when he inclined his head.

“Don’t venture too far,” he ordered, heading in the direction she’d said for him to go, and Sakura wasted no time in hurrying over behind the nearest tree to relieve herself. Fortunately it didn’t take too long, so she pulled her pants back up, ensuring they were tight around her waist before she hurried back to where they’d parted. _Madara would definitely wait for her, rather than expecting her to head back to the campsite. _They stuck together whenever possible, wherever modesty and prudishness allowed them – which was more often than not, considering they had the undersized, underdeveloped bodies of children.

Humming quietly, she waited there, smiling slightly as she waited for him to return. _It was kind of odd to think about her being happy to see Madara. No doubt the thought would’ve been strange weeks ago – he was meant to be her enemy – but here in these lands he was hers. _Pouting at how long she waited, she edged closer to where he had vanished, blinking in confusion as tension built in the pit of her stomach. “Madara,” she called after a few minutes. “Madara? You nearly done?”

No answer.

Sakura bit her lip, worry making it feel as though there was a hand squeezing at her heart, and she stumbled forwards. “Hello? Madara?” her voice trailed out to a whisper, eyes narrowing, and she stepped forwards faster. _Had something happened to him? _Thoughts spiralled in her head. _She could hear no wolves, so there enemy was nowhere near. _Verdant eyes widened. _But what about Frodo’s?_

_‘Shannaro! Nothing had better have happened to him. We still need to smack some sense into that head of his!’ _Inner declared.

Stumbling forwards, she blinked, rubbing her eyes as she spotted a small figure making its way towards her quickly. A smile curled at her lips, spying the familiar mane of spiky black hair. _Madara was OK. Nothing bad had happened to him. _She waved at him, grin widening as his eyes widened. “Mada—”

“Behind you!”

Sakura blinked, hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end as she spun around, stumbling over her own feet as she spotted just how close the figure was behind her. It was only a matter of centimetres behind her, and she hadn’t sensed its presence at all. _Though it didn’t have much of one in the first place. _Tall as Strider, and yet it most definitely wasn’t Strider. Not with the raggedy black cloak and the worn boots it had on its feet. But her eyes weren’t drawn to any of that, instead focusing on the long slender sword it held in its hand. And it was lifted, ready to strike. Sakura backed away as quickly as she could, a yelp escaping her when she tripped over a root of the nearby tree. _And how ironic it was that what she could once control and love so dearly was going to be her downfall. _Flinching back, she slammed her eyes shut, trembling in anticipation as a wave of pure dread hit her. _It was only her experience with killing intent which had left her with a semblance of thought when she’d first seen the dark figure. _

But rather than the sharp slice of a blade, a heavy, warm weight landed on her instead. Her eyes snapped open, blinking as she recognised the silkiness of the hair half-strewn across her face. “Madara?” she breathed, relaxing at the comforting weight. _He’d gotten them out of the way of the first strike. _But the creature was already preparing for the second, and she was pinned under Madara’s weight. “Come on,” she mumbled, hands going to his back, ready to help him spring to his feet, blinking as a warm sticky liquid covered her hands. She pulled them back, eyes darting up to the creature in front of them, heart stuttering as she stared at the blade which caught the moonlight that shone through the canopy of leaves above. A dark liquid rolled down the blade, and Sakura blinked again, dumbfounded.

“Can’t let you die, stupid,” Madara wheezed, eyes flickering open, voice weak. “You’re my only clue…”

_Madara had protected her. _A lump built in her throat, one she couldn’t quite swallow, even as the creature readied itself to cut them both down that time. _And Madara had slipped into blissful unconsciousness, leaving her on her own._

_She was on her own._

Fear gripped her heart. _She was useless without Madara, all thanks to her pathetic body and her inability to use her chakra anymore. _It was like before. She couldn’t do anything. She’d just been watching Madara’s back the entire time, just like she’d been watching Naruto’s and Sasuke’s. Bitter tears built in the corners of her eyes. _What the hell was she supposed to do? _Even if she could pull herself out from under Madara’s body, she wouldn’t be able to move him out of the way of the strike. _Think. _A sob burst from her lips. _She couldn’t just leave him behind. He was hers. She’d called him brother. She cared about whether he lived and died, because without him she felt vulnerable. With him she felt safe._

_She wished Madara could feel safe with her there too._

_But she was useless._

_And yet she needed to protect them both that time. _Tears ran down her cheeks. _Think, dammit, _she hissed in her mind. _How? How was she supposed to do it? Madara was hers. Hers to protect. He’d protected her at the cost of his own safety—_

_‘So pay him back in turn,’ _Inner whispered.

_How?_

Her hands curled into fists, shaking with rage as the creature all but taunted her with how slow it was moving. _No, that was just her perception of time being skewed with. _Wiggling, she tried to move, cursing as her efforts remained futile. Madara was too heavy and she was too weak. _Pathetic. Always so pathetic. Just like when Madara had been swallowed by that tree… _Rage built in her, anger at herself, anger at the hooded being that was so intent on becoming her demise.

_‘Underneath you,’ _Inner whispered again, and Sakura felt that molten rage build in her stomach once again, just like with that old tree in the forest. Fire burnt in her gut, and Sakura reached out below her with her senses, blinking as she felt the little whispers of a seed in the ground. _One she was familiar with. _

The sword fell, a strike she knew would kill her if not averted or deflected, and Sakura reached for that seed, and that fire in her stomach rose. It rose and it kept rising, burning up her throat, the word coming to her in her mind as though it had been there all along. **_“Grow,” _**she commanded, the word burning at the back of her throat, the ancient sound reverberating through the air.

Ground cracked, roots forming, a dark brown, almost black trunk twisting out from the ground between her and the creature, branches lashing out as they grew. Pink blossoms burst into bloom, and a loud screech met her ears as the tree grew and grew. Terror fled from her along with the creature, and Sakura took that as her chance to pull herself out from under Madara. Her hands went to his back, more tears leaking from her eyes as she felt the amount of blood he was losing. _He’d die if she didn’t do anything – but she didn’t know what to do. _She couldn’t use chakra to heal him, and she had no bandages or herbs to help stem the flow of blood. She didn’t even know what herbs there were, let alone what they did. Her knowledge was all useless, and she had no supplies.

_‘But maybe Strider does?’ _Inner offered, and Sakura rose to her feet, ignoring the sheer weakness and tiredness seeping through her body.

“Come on,” she hissed, gritting her teeth as she hauled Madara onto her back, pulling his arms around her neck as she dragged him forwards, limbs creaking under the strain of his weight. “Hold on just a little longer,” she mumbled, whispers falling silent as she pulled them both towards the fire she could see. _The fire that grew closer with every step. _Huffing and heaving, she carried him forwards, almost sighing in relief when they broke from the treeline and came into sight of their travelling companions who looked slightly worse for the wear.

Strider hurried to their side, speaking words she couldn’t understand, so all Sakura could do was follow as he led them back to the campsite. Her lip wobbled, a grimace on her face as she spotted an unconscious Frodo close to the fire and the extent of the wound on Madara’s back. _The injury he’d taken for her._

Sniffling, Sakura knelt down, clutching at the limp hand which had once held hers with strength. Sam came to her side then, offering words of what she assumed to be reassurance and comfort as Strider tended to her _stupid, idiotic _companion. _He was a big stupid idiot, _Sakura decided right then and there. _But she’d save the smacking until he was better. _


	13. Of Golden Warriors and Wolves

She couldn’t smack him.

He was lying there on his front, bandages tinged with red, the smell of some odd herb coating them wafting through her nostrils as she knelt by his side. Her nose wrinkled, both the scent and the worry making her unable to muster the will to fall asleep. She couldn’t sleep while he was like that. She had to be strong. She had to protect him just as he had protected her, and if that meant glaring at Strider whilst he treated Madara with strange methods unknown to her, then so be it. She would’ve thought Madara needed stitches, but either Strider didn’t have the necessary tools or the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked to her. Neither thought was all that comforting.

Clutching at his clammy hand, she watched and waited with bated breath, but even as the sun rose on the horizon – the dark of night passed – Madara still did not wake. Blinking tiredly, she could only watch through half lidded eyes as her precious idiot was lifted and fastened to Strider’s back. Sleepily, she reached up for him, but Strider was already walking away and rousing the small adults.

Frodo was awake. Madara was not.

Sakura blamed the childish body, but some part of her doubted her experience around him would’ve been as pleasant as it had been if he were an adult inside and out. At least with her childish form she didn’t wind up arousing that much suspicion. To others she just looked like a child, and children rarely had evil motives. _Unless they were shinobi_, her mind added snidely.

Yawning, she got ready herself, struggling to muster the energy for some reason. She had been feeling horribly drained after using her mokuton in that world. _She didn’t even understand how she’d used it in the first place when she had no chakra. _Sakura could barely find the energy to walk, and she stumbled on through the rest of the day, plodding on through unchanging scenery, wishing she could be back in that nice safe underground place with Madara snuggled up to her every night.

Four days passed, and it was only on the fifth that they came upon a road – a change in all the forestry she had been stuck with previously, though they only lingered on the road for a short while. They were off it just as quickly, back to trampling through the forest towards a destination Sakura had no clue about.

Madara was still unconscious, and he grew paler and paler with each passing day. Strider didn’t allow her to cuddle him at night either, and Sakura barely slept a wink. Still, somehow she made it through each day, although the strain on her tiny body felt that much worse with each passing night. She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was how useless she had been when facing off against that dark hooded figure.

They plodded on, continuing their trek, and Sakura felt her feet dragging as she was dragged into the constant cycle of worry. _Madara and his condition was all but consuming her thoughts day in and day out. _Strider was seemingly worried about the pair of them too, for all how he tried to help her sleep instead of shuffling about Madara’s comatose form. It was only lucky that both her and Madara could seemingly survive longer than the small adults without food and drink.

The sixth day passed, quickly followed by the seventh – but something happened on the eve of that seventh day. They had been by the road when Sakura had caught sound of it with her wonderfully pointed ears first – the sounds of hoofbeats, light and merry. Sakura hunkered down in the bushes, knowing those scary horsemen were chasing after them. _The ones who’d hurt Madara. The ones she really wished she had the strength to beat up – or better yet, kill. _Shinobi didn’t have to practice vigilance against dead enemies. The only good enemy was a dead one, or so she’d been taught, and she was in the perfect body for forms of adorable murder. _Who on earth would expect the cute, squishy-faced pink-haired girl to be capable of heartless murder? _

With narrowed eyes, Sakura watched the road, almost sighing in exasperation as the others finally cottoned onto what she’d heard minutes before them. They all shuffled about nervously along with her – at least until the horse and rider came into view.

Golden.

That was the first thing that came to mind when she saw the white horse and rider. That and the fact he was ridiculously pretty. His hood was left back, shiny golden locks swept up in the wind behind him – revealing the defined points to his ears. Sakura swallowed hard at that fact. _He had the same ears as her – as Madara… and that meant he’d likely speak their language. _She swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat as her worry for Madara warred against his orders. _She wanted to ask whether her brother would be alright, but Madara hadn’t wanted to reveal themselves… and his own ears were neatly concealed under the magnificent mane of spiky black hair that belonged to him. _

Her thoughts were only confirmed when he spoke to Strider the first time – the bedraggled man having leapt out of the bushes with a cry upon spotting the horse and rider. He could speak the only tongue which she knew, not that he apparently knew she spoke it as he addressed their group in that unfamiliar tongue.

Greeting done, he turned back to Strider, speaking words Sakura could finally understand.

“Estel, why do you bring _children _with you?”

Sakura stiffened ever so slightly, covertly looking over at the odd pair – one being an alarmingly beautiful person, the other being the bedraggled man she and Madara had been tagging along with.

“I attempted to leave them in Bree, but they managed to follow us. How exactly, I know not. They do not speak…” Strider, or _Estel_ apparently, said. “But they are here now, and there is nothing I can do about that.”

“Then we must make haste,” the golden one said, and Sakura knew his name to be Glor-something from the odd introduction he’d done. “I will see to the little one on your back once we stop to rest…” he said, promptly leaving Estel’s side and going over to the small adult’s side – examining Frodo’s wound a short while later.

Eventually, Frodo was placed on the big white horse, and Sakura could only stumble behind the rest of the company as they were led into the night at Glorfindel’s urging. She wasn’t one for complaining, and there was no way to do just that without arousing suspicions, so Sakura simply stayed quiet and trudged along dutifully behind them. If it got Madara to safety and healing faster, then she’d do it. _She couldn’t keep dragging him down any longer. _Gritting her teeth, she only walked onwards, under the deeply clouded sky.

And it was under that starless, unlit sky that she first heard the howls.

They were loud – louder than they’d ever been, and that thought chilled Sakura to the bone. _They were there. They’d found them despite her best efforts otherwise. _

Sakura walked that much faster, hands shaking ever so slightly as she realised the howls were coming from behind. She was alone without Madara, and she was utterly defenceless. _If only she had a knife… or some other weapon she could still wield with her tiny body… If only she actually knew how to use her mokuton without her chakra… _

Strider spoke then, voice cutting through her worries and musings as he and Glorfindel came to the rear of their small group. Of course, she hadn’t the slightest clue about what he was saying, but a glance at his clothing revealed a small knife attached to a place she could reach.

Stealing it was rather easy too, thanks to her shinobi skills, and soon she had a knife in her hand, and she was feeling a little bit more confident with the situation. _She’d hold her own, no matter what… _

Swallowing back the bile, Sakura watched and waited, heart beating a mile a minute inside her chest as she waited for something to happen – anything, and it did. They came from behind them, emerging from the shadows of the brush, and they were far larger than Sakura remembered, with teeth sharp and glistening with saliva. _They were utterly terrifying, especially since she was smaller than them. _Her grip tightened on her knife, hands shaking still.

Silently she prayed none of them made it past the two strong adult warriors who already had their blades drawn and ready – but that wasn’t to be. These strange wolves who’d followed them in search of a vessel were as cunning as they were smart – which was very.

Sakura saw the smaller wolf slink from the shadows, beady eyes fixed on Madara as he was held to Estel’s back by the fabric, and a chill shot through her as she realised their target wasn’t her. She wasn’t the vessel they were after, despite her seemingly belonging in that world. Madara was. Her precious, injured Madara who couldn’t defend himself.

Estel wasn’t expecting the wolf behind him, not with the amount of them surging from the bushes in front of him. Sakura ran forwards, eyes narrowed as she figured out the best interception point, only able to watch as Madara was ripped smoothly away from Estel. Paws pounded running away from the pair of warriors as one of them startled at the sudden loss of weight at his back. It’s job was done, but Sakura had no intention of letting them take Madara. _Madara was hers. _She clutched at her recently acquired knife, eyes narrowed as she glared at the approaching wolf, ducking under as it ran past without seeing her – too focused on the sight of freedom and the chase behind it to worry about a slip of a pink-haired girl. _Its mistake. _Her knife sunk into the fleshy underside, cutting deep, blood spurting out when she yanked her knife free from the falling wolf. Madara fell to the ground in a boneless heap, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Sakura swallowed, reaching for him with one hand, but the hairs prickling on the back of her neck made her spin back around, eyes widening as one of the larger wolves broke away from Estel and Glorfindel, the others of their pack keeping the warriors busy.

It was just her, and a tiny knife between the wolf and Madara.

Her throat was horribly dry, legs shaking as the beast ran towards her, jaws open in a snarl. _Courage, _Sakura told herself, gritting her teeth as she willed herself to remain calm. She would only be getting one chance to strike. _She wasn’t about to waste it. _

Shouts met her ears in that unfamiliar language, and Sakura thought it likely they were yelling at her to run. _But she wasn’t going to run. Madara hadn’t run away when the scary hooded man had been trying to kill her – so she wasn’t going to do just that… otherwise she’d never be able to look him in the eye once he woke up. _

Sakura darted one side, dodging the jaws that snapped around the space she’d occupied only seconds before. Her hands were moving in an instant, not wasting a second as she jammed the knife deep into its eye socket with a yell as she rammed it in as deep as possible, praying she’d pierced deep enough to kill.

The force of its charge knocked her back, wind whistling through her hair as she was thrown into the brush, cloak tangling on a scratchy bush of some description. Fabric was ripped away from her skin, rocks and other small sharp branches digging into her arms and back as her head slammed back into the rocky ground hard. _But the pain didn’t matter. _

A loud thud met her ears, relief seeping through her as the wolf crashed to the ground, knife still buried to the hilt in its eye.

Groaning, she rubbed at her head, sitting up slowly, wincing when she felt a trickle of something warm drop down from her forehead. Moonlight pierced through the clouds right then and there, shining down on her as if to congratulate her for her continued survival.

A shadow blocked off that light all of a sudden, and Sakura sucked in a sharp breath as she looked up – but it was only Estel in front of her. Smiling, she relaxed and blinked in confusion when she was lifted into his arms.

His eyes were wide, and Sakura tilted her head in a silent question. “Glorfindel!” Estel called sharply, and Sakura reached up to pull her hood further over her head – only to freeze when she realised her cloak was gone and the hood along with it. Everything covering her hair and ears were gone.

Glorfindel looked up from where he was crouched beside Madara, eyes widening when he spotted her.

“We have a problem.”


	14. Flight to the Ford

She had been found out.

Sakura fidgeted in Estel’s arms, nervously glancing around, not enjoying the attention focused on her. _Madara was going to kill her when he woke up – because he would wake up. He had to. _Swallowing, she shifted to clutching at Estel’s front as Glorfindel stood as if to greet them. His bright grey eyes were locked on her trembling form, and Sakura almost whimpered. His presence was far larger than her own, and she stood no chance against him if he turned against them for whatever reason. The safety he radiated unnerved her still, and she had long since learnt to trust those kinds of thoughts, especially with the wars – ambushes going on all the time and the like.

Madara lay silently on the ground, all but forgotten about as the adults converged on her. Worried, Sakura frowned, keeping her eyes on his still form. Her throat felt horribly dry all of a sudden, and she sorely wished the ground would open up and swallow her again. Either that, or that Madara would miraculously wake up and rescue her. He would know what to do.

But Madara didn’t wake up, and Sakura was passed over to Glorfindel with something akin to awed reverence.

She felt even tinier than she was, hands fisting in the fabric of the cloak he wore, and she was stuck staring up nervously into those grey eyes. Sakura was so caught up in staring – and generally just being nervous on the whole – that she missed his first words to her in the only language they shared. His thumb ran over her cheek, a frown marring his brow at the flinch she made at the unexpected contact. “Little one, do you understand us now?”

Sakura froze like a rabbit in the headlights, frantically looking around, desperate for some sign on whether or not she should talk with the eerie safe-feeling warrior.

_‘Talk to him!’ _Inner spoke eagerly. _‘He can help.’ _

Sakura squinted suspiciously at him, lips parting, but all that escaped her mouth was a huff of air – and Sakura was faced with the horrifying realisation that she was acting far too much like her previous preteen self – the one before Ino had found her. She was painfully shy around strangers, and despite her overcoming that hurdle with Ino it had come back to bite her in the backside with vengeance.

Rather than speaking, she settled for nodding her head jerkily, shifting slightly as the heat radiating from his chest seeped into her bones. _She felt horribly tired, no doubt thanks to her long sleepless nights over the past few days. _Her eyelids felt worryingly heavy, and really Sakura wanted nothing more than to fall asleep – if only because Glorfindel was weirdly comfy to rest her head against, something that unsettled her too, but only if she really thought about it. _Currently she didn’t want to think. _She wanted to sleep.

“You are tired,” he murmured, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

Sakura stared up at him petulantly, grip on his cloak almost knuckle white.

“We have another problem,” Estel spoke, and her temporary pillow turned to face him. Sakura stared at Madara’s prone form – silently relishing the sight of the princess carry, a small smile curling at her lips as she imagined the adult he was inside there instead.

Glorfindel arched an eyebrow.

“They are _both _of elven kind,” Estel said, having tucked the black spiky mane behind Madara’s slightly larger ears.

What followed next was a blur of action, and Sakura blamed the lack of sleep – and Glorfindel’s musical voice – as she slipped into a short, uneasy nap. She couldn’t tell whether it was fifteen minutes or an hour which passed, but by the time she forced her tired eyes back open, Madara looked slightly more healthy. She glanced up between the three of them, eyes lingering on the _kind _golden-haired member of their new race before she promptly decided she was long overdue for a much longer nap – and she could probably trust Glorfindel. Whatever he did had made Madara look slightly closer to waking up.

“Where did you come from, little one?” he asked, and she blinked slowly up at him with her big _adorable _green eyes.

_Yep, _she decided. There was no way she was answering any questions without Madara, and she was _so very_ tired. _What better way to escape unwanted questions than to sleep? _So without further ado she plonked her head against the comfiest-looking part of his cloak and promptly fell asleep.

She missed Madara’s _raging-inferno warmth_ but she figured Glorfindel’s _bright-soothing warmth _more than made up for her injured mattress.

* * *

The jostling woke her up from her sleep, as did the sounds of hooves and swords being drawn. Glorfindel, as she learnt, was a proficient fighter – even with only one hand free – not that he needed to do anything except move his _threateningly bright light _towards the mean riders who’d hurt Madara.

Sakura could only watch in satisfaction as they were crushed under the rolling waves – which looked oddly like horses for some strange reason. Yawning, she stared with sleep-crusted eyes as the waters calmed down, allowing them passage into a place both Estel and Glorfindel called Imladris. Sakura assumed it to be their destination, and eagerly, she looked towards Madara. _He could finally be treated and he would wake up._

“All will be well, little one,” Glorfindel spoke, chest rumbling against her tiny hand as she kept a hold of him in an attempt to keep her balance while peering over at _her_ idiot.

Sakura huffed, eyes narrowing as Estel carried Madara away from her – leading the small adults inside and towards a group of her kin. Her free hand reached out, pawing at the air, and she could only watch as Madara was bundled away. A small whine escaped her lips before she zipped them shut, and Sakura blushed. _She was acting like a petulant child… but she wanted to go with Madara… wanted to be there when he woke up in a strange place with strange people all around him…_

“We must let the healers do their work,” Glorfindel spoke, and Sakura hunched in on herself as best she could. _She was not pouting. Not in the slightest. _“Come now. Do not frown so. You shall see your friend soon, I promise you that.”

_Friend. _Sakura bit her lip. _Was that what he was to her? _

“Lord Elrond tends to the halfling, but once his work is done he will wish to meet with you. You may stay with your friend after that.”

Somehow Sakura imagined this _Elrond’s _work would take a while, and that Madara’s healing would be done by the time she saw him. _She only hoped she would be there in time to be by his side for when he woke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than I'd like, but my writing has been slow as of late and I want to get some more content up...


	15. In Imladris

The twisted sheets of her mattress made for a good rope, or so Sakura discovered as she edged out of the window and slowly descended towards the garden below using her makeshift rope. Her small hands made swift progress, arms aching ever so slightly until her bare feet landed on the springy grass. The _elleth _Glorfindel had given her over to in order to help clean her up had provided her with new clothes – a flowing dress of sorts, along with some slippers unsuited for walking outside, and she had promptly discarded both of them when she’d found some child-sized pants and a grass green tunic in the sole wardrobe inside the airy room. It made it easier for her to run about, because she knew she’d need to run about and probably hide too if she wanted to go and find Madara.

She was impatient, and Glorfindel hadn’t come to bring her to Madara like he’d promised. So she was going to find him herself. Sakura glanced back at the twisted sheet rope, promptly hurrying away from the scene. The minute someone walked by it would be all to obvious she had escaped. _If she’d been able to use her chakra she wouldn’t have had to worry about that. _But she couldn’t, so on her merry way she went.

Her footsteps were almost silent on the grass, and she quickly ducked behind the nearest bush, sneaking through the leaves quietly. She was practically undetectable—

“And just what do we have here, Elladan?”

Sakura froze, finally registering the presence behind her. _Or should she say presences? _She turned slowly, barely taking in the two annoyingly tall figures before she was being lifted to eye level. Twin sets of grey eyes bore into her green ones, and Sakura bared her teeth, finding her confidence as she was held aloft. “Put me down!” she ordered, puffing up her cheeks as the one not holding her began to coo at her.

“You are the one Glorfindel brought back with the halfling,” the one she presumed to be Elladan said, peering at her closely. “I believe he is speaking with _ada _about you…”

“No wonder,” the second, as of yet unnamed one spoke, tucking her pink locks behind her ear, marvelling all the while at the shape of it. Sakura didn’t quite understand it – sure it was the same as his, but really… what was the big deal?

_‘Because children of the eldar aren’t as common as you think, silly,’ _Inner whispered, and Sakura frowned. Inner was strange, she decided right then and there, _and likely the reason she had wound up in that place. _She swallowed, waiting for Inner to answer, to confirm her suspicions – but there was no more words from her.

Commotion above them made the pair surrounding her turn to face the familiar golden head of hair sticking out of the window, having found her makeshift rope.

Elladan adjusted his hold on her, bringing her close enough that she could grab at his tunic with one hand. “Calm yourself,” he called up to the harried elf. “It seems the little one wanted to go exploring, but we came across her before she got too far.”

Sakura risked a glance upwards, flinching slightly at the sheer _worry _on Glorfindel’s face before he spied her there in the other ellon’s arms. Guilt stirred in her gut, and Sakura bit her lip even as his golden locks vanished back inside her room. _Her plans to explore and find Madara had already gone wrong. _Tears bit the corners of her eyes at the thought of how easy it had been to find her for her… _minders? _Sakura frowned, glaring at the grass as she wondered exactly what the elves were to her. Would they arrange for her and Madara to be cared for? They were _children _to everyone else, and Sakura was under no misassumptions they would be treated as such.

_The amount of cooing by the few elves she had run into made her certain of that much. _

Pouting, she turned her glare on Elladan’s chest, frowning all the while. She wanted to see Madara already. She needed to see him. _It felt oddly like she was having withdrawal symptoms if she was perfectly honest with herself. _Sakura blinked, shivers rolling down her spine as something occurred to her.

She was not co-dependent on Madara.

He wasn’t relying on her, so she couldn’t rely on him. Scowling, Sakura barely registered the third familiar figure hurriedly making their way over to them. It wasn’t until she was promptly passed over to an all too familiar _bright-soothing warmth_ belonging to the wonderful golden-haired ellon who’d been so nice to her and Madara. _Who’d looked so worried at her disappearance via the window. _

“Little one, you cannot run off or own without telling me, understand?” he said, and Sakura puffed out her cheeks, glaring petulantly at the slight smear of dirt on his shirt. _She was supposed to be an adult… but she was stuck in the form of a child. _Something she would seemingly have to get used to with her new company. “I am currently your guardian, little one, and as such your safety and care are my responsibility.”

Sakura risked a glance up into those steely grey eyes, the same ones staring down at her in reprimand, and tears built in the corners of her own eyes. Whether it was frustration, embarrassment, the helplessness of her confusing situation, or something entirely different, she didn’t know. All she knew was that… “I wanna see Madara,” she said, chewing on her lip as she tried to keep the tears at bay. _She was not about to cry in front of practical strangers_. “You said you would take me to him…”

“And I will, little one,” Glorfindel said, expression softening ever so slightly at her teary face – which she promptly hid in his shoulder. “_Madara,_” he said, the name sounding foreign on his tongue compared to the ease with which her own spoke it. “I take it that is the name of your dear friend?”

Sakura nodded, rubbing the last of her tears away as she felt herself getting somewhere. _Closer to seeing her Madara. _“Can I see him?” she asked, glancing up at him pleadingly. “Please.”

“If you promise not to run off without telling me, then yes,” Glorfindel said, and Sakura nodded. She could sacrifice that much if it meant seeing Madara. It wasn’t like she could sneak around that much – as proven by the pair finding her there in the grassy courtyard. Sakura soon found herself being carried through unfamiliar hallways, towards where she presumed Madara was resting after having been healed. _Sakura vowed to regain some form of healing ability as quickly as possible in that new, strange world. _She didn’t want to be unable to save Madara again. “_Madara _is the name of your friend, little one, but unfortunately I still have no idea of your own. Forgive me for being so slow to ask,” he said, glancing down at her. “Might this little lady be so kind as to inform me of her own?”

Sakura giggled at the strange wording. _It felt kind of archaic in a way. _“Sakura,” she informed him, blinking as they finally arrived in the room Madara was resting within. Only he wasn’t the only one inside. Another elf was there, tall and dark-haired, like the two others they had left behind in the garden.

She swallowed as his gaze flickered over from Madara to her. He radiated power just like her apparent minder, only his was less intense… more_ subtle_. Though it didn’t make his presence any lesser than Glorfindel’s. A small snuffling noise from the sole bed in the spacious room had her attention immediately darting over onto _her idiot. _The same one who’d taken a damned sword for her, _but only because she was a clue to getting home. _Her hands flailed out, and Glorfindel was forced to readjust his grip on her as she reached desperately for source of that _raging-inferno warmth _she had so missed over the last few days.

“_Sakura,_” her minder said – briefly reclaiming her attention long enough to introduce the other elf. “This is Lord Elrond, Lord of Imladris – whose house you now reside in.”

“Hello?” Sakura offered, nervousness clawing at her gut as she glanced between the highest figure of authority in the land she resided in and the idiot lying on the bed. The same idiot she wanted to cuddle.

“Well met,” the smooth, melodic voice intoned, and Sakura chewed on her lip, desperately reaching towards Madara, pouting up at Glorfindel as he continued to hold her there. _Couldn’t he see she wanted to go and cuddle Madara? _Not that she would ever admit that out loud. “Your friend will be well, do not worry yourself so.”

_But it wasn’t that she was worried. It was that she wanted to hug him. Feel his warmth – the one which told her was still alive. The one she was so used to cuddling up with. _

Sakura frowned, swallowing nervously as she _sensed _what was about to happen. _They wanted answers to questions. _“Can I cuddle him?” she asked, pointing a finger at Madara, throwing all her pride out of the window as she frantically sought a way to avoid the upcoming questioning. _Or at least delay them long enough for Madara to wake up. _

Elrond nodded then, and Sakura found herself being placed down on the bed. “Do be careful of his back,” he warned. “His wound is still in the process of healing.”

Sakura nodded, crawling over to his side, a frown on her face as she stared down at Madara’s sleeping face. _He looked so cute. _So peaceful. Her shoulders sunk. _It was all her fault he was like that. _The rustle and slight noise from across the room drew her attention to the pair pulling up chairs by Madara’s bedside. Sakura swallowed, mind racing as she came up with two possible ways to avoid the questions. _Either cry like a child, noisily and wail about how it was all her fault he was like that, and then be comforted like a child. _Tempting… and also very embarrassing.

Option two it was.

She wasted no time in tucking herself into the bed next to her idiot, snuggling carefully into his side, nuzzling her face into his neck before she called on one of the few skills she hadn’t lost – and could still use. _After all, during the war medics had needed to be able to rest effectively. _Which was how Sakura had learnt how to fall asleep on command, even if not particularly tired, and it was that she did with gusto – eyes glazing over as she snuggled into the familiar, comforting warmth of her mattress.

It felt good to be back like that.

But it certainly didn’t feel as good when she woke up later – to two dark grey eyes glaring down at her. Both Elrond and Glorfindel were still there. Still ready to question them of their origins. Madara sat up, pulling her up along with him, given how she was still leaning against him. “Sakura,” Madara spoke, voice slightly hoarse from days of disuse, but his glare said it all.

_How in the ever loving hell did you mess up this badly?_

Sakura scratched the back of her head, looking to the side, laughing weakly. “Heh?”

Madara was unimpressed, glare only darkening as he stared down at her.

“Oops?” she offered.

Madara flicked her on the nose.


	16. Days Roll By

Sakura stayed quiet throughout their questions, letting Madara answer them as best he could. She didn’t even know where to begin, and the truth sounded stranger than fiction. How were they supposed to say they were technically adults from another world? There was no way for them to really explain that, so instead, Elrond and Glorfindel were subjected to Madara’s twisted truth. _Because the best lies were always rooted in that. _Though Sakura was fairly certain neither elf was fooled in the slightest. She could almost sense the aura of scepticism radiating from them as they let Madara continue weaving his tale.

Neither of them called Madara out though. They listened quietly. _Patiently. _Her brow furrowed, and she peered at the two. _Why were they so patient and calm? _She didn’t understand – then again, it was more the shinobi part of her which hated being lied to. They didn’t seem to have any shinobi there, though elves on the whole were freakishly quiet – she had found that out the hard way.

She was still frowning over dinner, her side still pressed against Madara’s as they ate together. “I’m glad you’re awake,” she said, savouring the creamy soup she was guarding from _her _idiot’s grubby hands. “It was boring without you.”

“And you had no idea what to do it seems,” Madara remarked between mouthfuls. “Otherwise they would have never figured out we’re _like _them.” He sniffed, glaring at her but Sakura had become practically immune to his _cute _glare. Not that it took much effort, given his tiny, adorable face. _Even if it was set into a grumpy frown more often than not._

“It’s not my fault my hood got knocked off while I was saving your backside from becoming wolf chow,” she muttered bitterly, remembering how weak she was in that body. Especially with her inability to use chakra or her weird mokuton on command. It frustrated her to the point of making her want to rip her hair out.

Madara huffed. “I thought they were searching for a vessel, according to you and your weird nightmares,” he said, setting the tray down on the bedside table as they finished with it.

Sakura blinked. “You believe me now?”

“No,” he said flatly. “Though I suppose considering the possibility isn’t out of the question,” he mumbled, adjusting the pillows behind him so he could sit up more comfortably. Sakura snuggled up next to him, pulling the blankets up as the door clicked open, revealing Glorfindel’s familiar figure. His hair almost looked like it was glowing with the light from the corridor behind him. _Ethereal. _That was the word to describe him, especially with the way he unnerved her. _Though that was just her shinobi instincts screaming at the unnatural trust his very presence generated. _

“Is there anything else you need?” he asked gently, collecting their tray.

Sakura shook her head.

“Books,” Madara said, startling her all of a sudden. “I want something to read.”

“Please?” Sakura tacked on the end, elbowing Madara gently in the ribs to remind him of _manners _because these people were taking care of them now, when they didn’t have to.

“Don’t elbow me!” Madara hissed, clutching at his side.

Sakura scowled at him. “Be polite then, idiot,” she grumbled.

Madara scoffed.

Sakura rolled her eyes, blinking as she heard the quiet chuckle before Glorfindel left the room. Her cheeks reddened, remembering that they were no longer by themselves in a scary world. Ever since they had entered Imladris, uneasiness had faded, and Sakura had felt more content. It was comfortable there.

She only hoped Madara felt the same.

* * *

Sakura glared at the ground, pouting as she sat on the steps outside the library. It was where Madara was, buried in books as he read through the library with a terrifying ferocity. Something had consumed him while he was recovering from his injury, and now Sakura always knew where to find him – in the library. Even when Elladan and his twin, Elrohir, came to help entertain the pair of them they couldn’t pry Madara away from whatever reading material he had his nose buried in.

Her shoulders sunk, and she chewed on her lip, ignoring Elladan as he stared down at her in worry. She had been quiet the past few days, nursing a small ache in her chest at Madara’s lack of communication with her. _All he talked about was finding a way to get home. _He didn’t want to talk to her when all she apparently did was try to discourage him.

“You’ve got plenty of time,” Sakura reminded him, grabbing at his arm as they hurried back to their room. _They were children for whatever reason, and their race was completely different. _Sakura didn’t quite understand all the differences of elves compared to humans, only that they had pointy ears – and every single one was unfathomably pretty, especially the ellith. “And it’s important to rest sometimes.”

Madara shook her off, a scowl painted on his lips. “Says the one who’s resting all the time,” he muttered, storming into their room, door slamming shut behind him with a loud thud.

Sakura stared at the ground, shoulders slumping. _She’d gotten too comfortable there. _Tears built in her eyes. They stung, like always. She’s been a crier – always letting her emotions out through her tears rather than grouchy anger _like Madara_. “I don’t know what I’m doing either,” she muttered to the closed door. It wasn’t like she’d been thrown in an entirely new world without rhyme or reason – or even a seal to explain why she’d wound up there.

Just a voice telling her it was time she came home.

Something Madara was determined to ignore in his quest for answers. _Because implying she came home meant there might not be a way back. _She was the link that had brought them there, and she knew deep down it was connected to her strange secondary personality.

Inner had been able to kick out Ino when she invaded her mind. _Ino had even asked what she was. _Her shoulders fell even further.

The door creaked open. “Are you coming in or what?” Madara grumbled, glaring at her from the doorway.

“Coming,” she mumbled, feet feeling heavy as she plodded inside.

* * *

“Madara,” she spoke, voice quiet in the stillness of the night as she stared listlessly at her side of the room. “What are you going to do if you can’t find anything here?”

“There has to be,” he muttered back, sounding so very tired.

Sakura felt guilt stirring in her gut. _She should be helping him. She should want to go home and be reunited with Naruto and Sasuke… _But she didn’t.

“What if you can’t find anything because the answers you’re looking for don’t exist?” she asked, almost shivering at the deadly silence that fell. It felt like something might snap. _It felt dangerous. _Filled with a dark black loathing, and a ceaseless obsession to chase those answers.

_Uchiha did always like to obsessively chase something, whether it be a dream to kill someone or bring about world peace. _Even if Madara was a dummy and couldn’t understand that peace would be a lie. The trees had told her all about it, spoken to her throughout her childhood.

The trees there didn’t talk to her at all.

They were asleep.

She liked it there anyway. She liked the sense of peace, and Madara, for all his chasing of that same peace on their old world, didn’t seem content with just that. She didn’t understand it. _She didn’t understand anything anymore._

“Shut up, brat.”

Sakura sighed. “Love you too.”

The words felt emptier than ever.

* * *

The pastures were green, flowers crowning raven black hair which fluttered in the slight breeze. She felt like the forest. She felt like life. “Your words have power,” she said, scooping up a mound of dirt, holding it out to her. “You can feel the seed there, can you not?”

Her hands reached out, excitement flooding through her as she felt the budding life there.

“Bring it to life,” she instructed, glimmering green eyes boring into her own. “That is your first task.”

Her mouth opened on command, lyrical words floating from her lips, filling the air around them as she began to sing.

And the forest bent to her word and will.

* * *

Sakura hummed happily as she made her way to the library on a full stomach – having just finished breakfast where Elladan and Elrohir greeted her joyously. _It was an oddly nice change from Madara’s gruffness. _Still, Madara was _hers _– she decided that a while back, and it was up to her to keep an eye on him even as he toiled away in the library. _Searching for answers she wasn’t sure he would find or like. _“Madara!” she called, feet thumping against the flooring as she hurried over to his usual spot.

Grey eyes glanced up at her flatly. “I’m busy.”

“Got anything you want me to read?” she asked, wandering towards the stack of books he had collected under the careful eye of the elf who minded the library. _Erestor, _Sakura tilted her head as she looked over at the other elf. _He was a scholar, _or so the twins had told her when they had been speaking about Madara and the library.

They joked that Madara would become one too at the rate he was going. _Though Sakura had seen the worry in their eyes when Madara was mentioned. _Something was eating away at him. _His obsession with returning to what he believed to be their home. _Sakura wasn’t so sure it was anymore.

Elflings weren’t meant to coop themselves up in musty libraries all day. _Though it wasn’t all that musty in the room thanks to Erestor. _They were meant to go out and play, like Sakura had sort of been doing.

Though she wasn’t any good at playing.

Instead, she had started to use it as a way to build up her strength and stamina – whether it be by running about, varying between jogs and sprints as she escaped her particular minders for the day, or by pulling her tiny little body up and down on tree branches.

_They never let her climb very high though, much to her own annoyance. _

“Go out and play, Sakura,” Madara said, turning back to his books without even a glare or a hint of gruffness to his words. _Just emptiness. _

“But I want to help—”

“Leave,” he ordered, not even bothering to glance her way again. “You’ll just get in the way.” _Because she wasn’t sold on the idea of going back to that world of chakra-infused madness. _

Sakura blinked, forcing back the tears which automatically wanted to fall at the sting of his rejection. But she wasn’t some tiny child, no matter what her appearance suggested. “Madara—”

He looked at her then, something misted in his eyes. “Get lost.”

Sakura stared at the ground, feet barely making a sound as she trudged back out the way she came from. _What had it been in his eyes? _Her shoulders fell, heart aching ever so slightly as she closed the door to the library behind her, feeling what must have been _characteristically _weepy by that point as she wandered listlessly through the halls.

It was meant to be her and Madara there.

She wondered why he couldn’t just relax. _Why he couldn’t let go when everything around them in that world seemed so much better than before. _He had been alone before—

_‘Alone and desperate,’ _Inner whispered, and Sakura looked up from the ground at the sound of her suspiciously quiet Inner. _‘And desperate people do stupid, desperate things.’_

Sakura blinked.

_It felt like a warning._

A dark cloud before the storm.

Sakura shook her head, shaking away the bad thoughts as she patted her cheeks. _More of a slap if she was being honest. _“Right,” she said, trying to channel some of the endless cheer Naruto had always seemed to radiate. _No need to dwell on Madara… he would adjust at his own pace. _

They didn’t need to go back to a place which had only brought them both sadness and hate. _The good times hadn’t outweighed the bad for either of them _– or so she thought.

She didn’t want to go back.

That was the decision she had made. _She hoped Madara would understand… and that he would stay with him – because she had come to love his grumpy arse. _Though she would never ever admit that fact out loud. _He had cared for her there, even if he said it was only because she was his clue to… going back. _

Lost in thought, she wandered through the halls, wondering what to do when she bumped into someone. The first old person she had actually seen there. His hair was grey, face craggy and weathered with age. She hadn’t seen him before in her life.

_So why did he feel so familiar?_

Sakura blinked, lips moving before she could think. _Inner’s doing_, she realised as the word slipped from her lips. _Not a word. _A name.

** _“Olórin.”_ **


	17. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

The old man blinked down at her in surprise. “Now that is a name I have not heard in a while,” he mused, frowning down at her, bushy grey eyebrows knotting together the longer he stared down at her – like she was some sort of puzzle he had yet to work out.

Clapping a hand over her mouth, she stumbled back, lines marring her brow as she tried to figure out the odd sense of familiarity and kinship she felt then. Pain stabbed through her temple, images trying to surge to the front of her mind at the feeling of the oddly familiar warmth he seemed to radiate, similar to her caretakers and Madara. “Uh, sorry mister,” she said, chewing on her lip as she looked up at him. _Why did he seem familiar? _What was Inner keeping from her?

“No harm done, child—”

“Mithrandir!” The sound of Glorfindel’s voice had her spinning around, eyes widening when she spotted the familiar golden-haired elf making his way towards them. “And Sakura…” he murmured, turning to stare down at her with a bright smile. _Everyone always seemed to smile so much there. _It was oddly infectious.

_But Sakura didn’t feel like smiling. _Not with how Madara was acting towards her and her wish to stay there in the strange happiness.

“So this is where you disappeared to…” Yet another cheerful, elvish voice had her turning on her heel, and Sakura blinked at the sight of the twin sons of Lord Elrond. She frowned, wracking her brain for their names. _Elrohir and Elladan. _Rubbing at her aching head, she peered up at them, confused as to what they were doing there – and evidently it showed on her face. “We thought you would be in the library with your precious friend…”

Sakura pouted at the reminder. _Madara was being idiotic and mean. _“Don’t want to be around him,” she grumbled, folding her arms. _He was being so stupid… why couldn’t he just see that? _If he could just open his eyes and look…

A worried look passed between the twins, but Sakura ignored them both, wondering what exactly she should do next. It wasn’t like she wanted to go home. _So she wouldn’t feel guilty about not helping Madara. _She belonged in that world.

She just needed to find why – it was what she needed to do. _As well as figuring out how she was supposed to use her mokuton in that place. _The rules were different, and she needed to figure them out. The sooner she began, the better.

“Shall we head to the gardens then?” Elladan asked, tilting his head in question, offering out his hand, and Sakura abruptly realised they were her minders for the rest of the day. Let it be said that elves were very careful with their children. _Though Sakura could admit that was probably because they were so few. _She hadn’t learned absolutely nothing in her time there, contrary to what Madara thought.

“Sur—”

_Pain. _Sakura stumbled, clutching at Elladan’s hand for support as the images – _the sensations _– flooded her mind. _Agony. Acrid eyes. Thick, dark, roiling power. Torn. Tearing. Floating, unable to take form. Then… darkness. Emptiness. Void. _

_“Don’t go there,” _a voice ordered weakly, and Sakura blinked in the odd black space she stood it. _It kind of looked a bit like the time when Ino had invaded her mind… _Only the figure staring back at her – the voice which had spoken – belonged to a mirror image of herself rather than a figure of white outlines. _“You’re too small… and your body is far too weak to bear the strain of those memories…”_

Sakura blinked. _That pain was a memory? _She shivered, frowning then. _Because she had no memory of that pain… which meant… _“Who are you, Inner?”

“Sakura?”

Snapping back to reality, Sakura stared around. _Was the world spinning? _Lifting her hand, she brought it to her nose, embarrassed as she realised her nose was running. But a hand grabbed her own, wrenching it away from her face, and Sakura blinked, confused at the red smear across her fingers and palm. _It looked like blood, _she mused, as the world tilted on its side.

_Oh wait. It was, _she realised, head lolling as it found itself pressed up against something warm and solid. She was being carried, not that she could really pay attention through the pain rattling through her.

“Ada!”

* * *

Her hair was an inky black colour, eyes that same glimmering green as they walked beside each other through the woods belonging to another of the Valar – having left her pastures behind as they ventured through the tall, healthy trees.

“Use your words,” she reminded. “They have power, and you should never forget that fact… because just as they can do great good… they can also unleash a terrible evil.”

She opened her mouth then, feeling a tug in that core of hers as she sang yet again.

_Words have power. Use them._

* * *

Sakura blinked, staring at the white ceiling which swam into view slowly. Yawning, she propped herself up on her elbows, freezing as she realised the absence of Madara’s warmth at her side. _She missed it. _But she had grown too dependent on him… _surely she could manage a couple of nights without him? _Her stomach curled at the thought.

“You have woken at last,” Elladan murmured, and Sakura spun her head around, blinking as she took stock of the elf sitting at her bedside.

Staring at him, Sakura readied herself to ask some questions – like _what had happened? _But instead the first word which came out of her mouth was, “Madara?”

“Your friend is fine,” Elladan said, smoothing a hand through her hair, concern written all across his face. “It is you who gave us all a scare…” he murmured, looking over at the door as the knock sounded. “Excuse me, little one.” Climbing to his feet, he ventured over to the door, leaving quietly, and then Sakura heard the quiet murmur of voices outside.

Curious, she climbed to her feet, pottering over to the door, resting her ear against it as she tried to listen to what all the so-called _adults _were trying to say. _Sometimes she hated the tiny body shew as stuck in… but she couldn’t deny she managed to get away with so much because of her childish adorableness. _

“—not meant to get sick like the Edain do,” Elladan all but hissed. “What is wrong with her, ada?”

“I think,” Glorfindel said, instead of Lord Elrond as she was expecting, and Sakura’s eyes widened as the door she was leaning against was jerked open. “This is a conversation best saved for when curious little ears cannot listen in.”

Sakura barely managed to catch herself with her hands. _The ground was so much closer thanks to her tiny body. _Pouting, she puffed out her cheeks, looking away from the three adults staring down at her with varying amounts of admonishment. Her cheeks reddened, and she borrowed Madara’s favourite phrase. “Hn.” _It wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong – aside from listening in on annoying adults who refused to tell her tiny self what was going on… _Well, if they knew what was going on in the first place.

“Come,” Glorfindel said, and Sakura found herself being picked up yet again. “You ought to get some sleep. It is late, and you need your rest,” he remarked, but rather than allowing herself to be placed down, she clung to her minder, tucking her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep. _Tried to forget Madara and how much of an idiot her usual mattress was being at that moment in time._

* * *

The woods were dark, the trees looming with the shadows they cast long. Fear made shivers run down her spine as she found herself there, outside of the boundaries of Imladris. Sakura flinched, looking around, terror creeping around to clutch at her heart as wolves crept out of the shadows. The same ones who had tried to kidnap Madara. _But what were they doing there? _Where even were they? She didn’t recognise the forest, unsurprisingly enough. Only that it was beyond the safety of the borders of Imladris.

A crunch of leaves underfoot in the forest behind her had her spinning around, and Inner’s words came back to haunt her then. _Desperate people do stupid, desperate things. _

“No,” she whispered, hating the fact no one could hear her there. She wasn’t there in body after all. “Don’t tell me—”

Madara stepped out of the woods, and Sakura’s heart sank to the bottom of her toes.

“Stupid idiot!” she yelled, hands going through him as she tried to rush at him. Tried to stop him, because what he was doing was pure lunacy. “Don’t trust them you imbecile! Can’t you see their going to trick you moron? You don’t have your chakra or your old fighting skills…”

But Madara couldn’t hear her, and Sakura could only watch as he bargained with those wolves. _Because he wanted answers which the elvish library did not have. _Sakura screamed, wanting to rip her hair out as she watched him start to walk away.

_She was staring at his back… just like before when she’d stared at their backs—_

It came to her then, a whisper on the wind. _“Words have powers,” _that voice from her dreams spoke. _Surely she could use them there… Surely she could use her mokuton and make him stop – keep him safe. _Opening her mouth, she let the words tumble out, let her voice urge the seeds in the ground to take root, to rise up and keep Madara there. _Keep him safe. _But nothing happened.

“Sakura!”

The cry snapped her back to reality, and she sat up on—oh. Sakura blinked, staring into those grey eyes which were staring at her in equal measures of wonder, confusion, concern, and fear. _She had fallen asleep on top of him, _she realised, pulling her head back, wincing as she bashed it against the branch, leaves and twigs tangling in her hair.

Why were they outside?

Sakura blinked, looking around, hands falling into her lap as she stared around the room in shock. They were still inside – there were just trees sprouting through the room. _Oh. _Sakura blinked a few more times. _She had used her mokuton, and she had figured out how. _It had just happened where her body actually was rather than where her consciousness had found itself.

Chewing on her lip, she launched herself off of the elf, sprinting over to the door, words spewing from her lips in that ancient language Inner knew and the door clattered to the floor with a loud bang. Her tiny feet slapped against the ground, and she ran from the Halls of Healing back to where her and Madara’s room was meant to be. _Maybe it hadn’t been a vision… and Madara was still there?_

She was allowed to have nightmares like that wasn’t she?

“Sakura!”

Shaking her head, Sakura ignored the panicked elf on her tail, praying she had just been dreaming of stupid things. _Madara had to be smarter than to try and go to them? _He couldn’t be that stupid… could he? “It was just a dream,” she whispered to herself, launching herself out of the nearest window, ignoring Glorfindel’s panicked exclamation as she made to cut through the courtyard there. “It wasn’t real.”

She grabbed a hold of the nearest branch, stopping her decent momentarily before dropping all the way to the ground – ensuring she didn’t wind up breaking her tiny little legs. Having no chakra was bothersome, but she had been working out her limits in her playtime. _Whilst Madara had been obsessing over answers. _

Sprinting over the ground and into familiar hallways, she ran past a surprised pair of twins, racing over to the door leading to their room, ignoring the pounding of feet behind her as she hesitantly reached for the door knob. Heart beating frantically, she pushed open the door, ice in her chest as she stared around the empty room. The bedsheets were made, looking like no one had slept there the night before. _Maybe he was at the library? _A sad smile pulled at her lips, and tears trickled down her cheeks as she fell to her knees in the doorway. She already knew it in her heart.

Madara was gone.


	18. Gone

_He had left her._

Sakura wrapped her arms around her knees, hating the feeling of the tears welling up in her eyes as she lingered in the doorway. _Madara had run away, just like Sasuke had, and all she could do was watch. _Her hands curled into fists. She was too small and weak to venture out after him, even if she still somehow had access to her mokuton. It drained her too much, or so the small trickle of blood from her nostril told her. _At least she hadn’t passed out that time… _That was a small mercy.

Dimly, she heard the golden-haired elf catch up to her, but she was too busy valiantly trying to hold back the tears and the sobs. _Because it was Sasuke all over again. _Madara was going to get hurt – she could feel it in her bones – and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was useless, yet again, and this time there would be no way to train herself up in two years. _Because she would still be painfully short, and she had the steep inclination Madara wasn’t going anywhere near as safe as going to Orochimaru would be. _Sakura snorted, a choked sob which soon had her wrapped in a hug by the familiar bright-soothing warmth. _She missed Madara’s raging-inferno warmth already. _

Scowling, Sakura glared at the collar of the tunic she was cuddled against, hating the fact she sounded so damned dependent on a grumpy git who’d ditched her – _his best clue _– for some suspicious wolves. Huffing, she slumped forwards, hiding her face as she heard more footsteps approaching. _Wasn’t Madara supposed to be an awesome war veteran who was mildly intelligent and good at figuring out opponent’s strategies?_

_‘Infinite Tsukuyomi,’ _Inner chimed in.

_And yes, of course. That explained everything. _Sakura sighed. Madara was a First Class Idiot of the highest order. And now he needed his dumb arse rescued. Her sniffles stopped, but the comforting pats on her back didn’t. Sakura allowed herself to bask in the safety of the embrace for a short while longer. After all, she wouldn’t be feeling particularly safe again anytime soon.

There was no Naruto there for her to send after him this time. _Well not one she trusted so much to listen to her and chase after an Uchiha idiot unrelentingly. _Though she did admit Glorfindel did a damn good job of at least looking somewhat like her old friend. She wasn’t going to be left behind ever again. _Who gave a damn if Madara was better at surviving in a strange unfamiliar world than she was? _She knew how to use a knife, and she knew where Madara had been taken. Now all she needed to do was get herself the right equipment and outwear, and then run like hell.

Elves, she had learnt, were fast runners though more so when they travelled on horses. _Though in the dense woodland, it would be hard for a horse to traverse the distance… unless they found the trail she could faintly remember seeing in the dream. _Sakura thought over the tall horses, sighing as she realised she would probably have to use one if she wanted to chase after Madara and make it in good time to rescue him from his idiocy.

Horse riding couldn’t be too difficult, could it?

* * *

It was.

Horses were confusing, especially to a shinobi who was so used to travelling via the trees. Not that she could really do that anymore. Though Sakura didn’t let that stop her as she clung to the saddle, praying she didn’t fall off – though she had gotten better at breaking her fall over her last few weeks of exploration.

Losing her minders earlier on in the day had been simple, as had breaking into the kitchens and the armoury to find food and weapons befitting of her size. Now, Sakura rode hesitantly, using the meagre knowledge she had gained from missions involving horses to guide the one she rode along.

_‘There!’ _Inner’s voice rang out, and Sakura’s gaze snapped onto the trail barely visible in the foliage, a smile on her face as she rode north into the dark green tree leaves, leaving the safety of Imladris behind in favour of chasing after her idiot. _She was going to be insufferably smug in front of Madara when she rescued him. _Not to mention she was going to throw as many scathing remarks his way as she could. He’d deserve it for being a complete and utter idiot. Though Sakura supposed he couldn’t help being an Uchiha – the clan of notorious idiots, or so it seemed to her. The few she’d known and heard about had been stupid.

Then again, they hadn’t had all the knowledge she contained in her tiny head, so Sakura supposed she couldn’t blame them too much. She was just awesome, and she was going to rescue Madara so awesomely. _And make him kiss her feet and worship her. _Sakura cackled at the thought. _He would then come to the realisation that she was the best, and that would be that._

Rationing her food and water came easily to her – and she was grateful for her strange small body which required less sleep than an average child of her age or there abouts would need, as well as the lack of hunger and thirst which would have otherwise plagued her if she’d been back in her usual body. _Though her usual body probably would have already caught up with Madara, because then she’d have had access to her chakra. _

Sighing quietly, she continued to ride north, careful to stop by streams and other water sources when her horse needed a rest, always listening to the faint whispers of the trees around her. The ones which told her she was on the right path, because unlike a _certain idiot _she listened to their warnings and knowledge. Misfortune only befell those who refused to heed them, and Sakura wasn’t one of them. _Though in hindsight, Madara probably couldn’t hear the trees. _She was just that special. _Or Inner was, at least._

Days and nights trickled by, the skies above her remaining unchanged and Sakura eventually lost count of how long she had been away, but the reminder of the beautiful city she had left behind for _a certain idiot who’d better be damn well pleased she came to rescue him _came in the form of a certain golden-haired elf, and a few others who, Sakura soon realised, had definitely tracked her path northward.

“Seriously?” Sakura grumbled, clinging to the saddle for dear life, every single part of her tiny body aching as she upped the speed to a gallop. _Maybe it was because of the horse? _she mused, thinking about how if maybe she just left the horse with them… then maybe they wouldn’t follow… and they’d just let her go on to a place the trees called _Gundabad _by her lonesome.

_‘Ha!’ _Inner snorted. _‘I doubt that will happen,’ _she said. _‘Or do you forget how precious children are to the Eldar?’_

“A girl can dream,” Sakura muttered, scowling at the realisation they would catch up within the day. She was too small, and far too unaccustomed to riding on a horse, while the group behind her were that much more experienced. _And that much stronger too, damn their full-sized adult bodies. _Sakura pouted furiously, only able to watch as either Elladan or Elrohir drew up alongside her, grasping the reins despite one of her tiny hands desperately trying to bat the grip away.

Then Sakura was left to deal with a particular golden-haired elf who was staring down at her sternly – an expression on his face which made her want to curl up into a ball in shame. _Not like that would ever happen. _She chewed on her lip. She was going to rescue Madara whether or not they liked it.

“Little one,” Glorfindel’s voice was perilously soft, and uncharacteristically reminded her of her mother’s tone before she was due for a good scolding. “Exactly what do you think you are doing out here?”

Sakura pointed north, staring back at him flatly – refusing to give into that scolding stare. “Madara.”

One golden brow raised. “Whilst I will commend you for having your friend’s best interests at heart, I am afraid the fact of the matter is that you came out here by yourself, despite having numerous more capable adults to turn to.”

Sakura puffed out her cheeks. _More capable. _She didn’t need to be reminded of how lacking she was. _But she had to do it. _She had to prove she wasn’t just someone to be protected. She was a warrior, even if she had been shrunk into the form of a tiny elf child.

“I know you and your dear friend have been alone for a long while yet, but you have returned to us now. Let us find your friend, for there is strength in numbers, and that sort of strength is needed once you travel north.”

“Tch.” Sakura clicked her tongue as she was lifted from the saddle of her horse, instead seated in front of the golden-haired elf who’d seemingly spent days tracking an elfling he barely knew. “Will you come with me then?” she grumbled, stiffening at the hand which mussed her hair.

“You misunderstand,” Glorfindel said. “You will be returning home to the safety of Imladris with Elladan, whilst the rest of us will finish searching for your dear friend. These woods are not safe for one such as yourself.”

“I can defend myself,” Sakura grumbled. _She had a few daggers strapped on her person, and elves could jump fairly high – even baby ones – and if not, ankles and calves were always good targets to bring enemies down to a better stabbing angle. _

“Sakura—”

“I have to!” She screwed her eyes shut, wanting to fall prey to the pleading, concerned eyes which stared down at her. “Otherwise I’ll never be able to do anything for myself.”

“This is not your fight.”

“Pssh.” Sakura folded her arms. It was her fight, even if the other couldn’t see that much, she knew it deep in her heart. _Fight logic with logic. _“If these woods are so dangerous, then wouldn’t I be better off travelling in a larger group?” she spoke, keeping her back straight as she pressed on, not letting the older elf interrupt her. “Besides, I know the name of the place where Madara’s been taken, so if you let me come with you I’ll tell you.”


	19. Gundabad

She was acting like a child – a brattish one, to be precise – and the slight twitch to those golden brows told her Glorfindel was along the same line of thinking. _But what else was she supposed to do? _She couldn’t sit around. She couldn’t do nothing… because if something happened, and she hadn’t at least tried, then she would regret it forever.

_Just like the fact that she’d never gone after Sasuke._

_She hadn’t been strong enough to._

She knew deep in her bones she would never be seeing the other Uchiha again, which was why she needed to rescue a certain idiot. Not to mention slipping into places would be that much easier with her smaller body, though her missing chakra reserves didn’t help her there all that much. They levelled each other out. _Which meant she could find Madara. _Her hands curled into fists. She wouldn’t be left behind that time.

“I am afraid I already have a good idea of where your friend has been taken to, given the direction you have been travelling,” Glorfindel said, ruffling her hair as he seemingly tapped into that almost endless patience he had. _Though given the timescale her new kin lived on, it was hardly surprising they seemed to have such tolerance for what would be seen as such childish antics._ “And it is no place for one so young as you to travel. This is not your fight, Sakura,” he said, closing his eyes, and Sakura felt herself bristle.

“But I’ve fought before!” she grumbled, neglecting to mention the fact she had been taller in body and actually had functioning chakra reserves instead of the strange ability to _sing _things into being.

“I know,” he spoke, and Sakura remembered she had in fact fought a wolf in front of the blonde elf. _He probably was thinking of that. _But Sakura had seen war. She had seen her companions die. _She wasn’t going to let her idiot be one of them. _“And you should not have needed to.”

Sakura chewed on her lip, frantically scrambling through all the information tucked away in her brain for something which would let the older elf take her to Gundabad. “I’m not _just _a child,” Inner spoke for her, urging her to look into those grey eyes which narrowed at her words.

Glorfindel closed his eyes, no doubt remembering the tree incident which had taken place just before she had fled after Madara’s trail. “You are a child in every way which matters,” he said with a note of finality, and Sakura bit her lip, pushing back the tears of frustration which threatened to spill as she found herself handed over to Elladan. _They passed her over so carefully, afraid she would fall and break something. _

She hated feeling so _breakable. _So _useless. _Her lip curled, and her tears fell silently as Glorfindel led the rest of the patrol onwards, leaving her behind with one of the twins. It didn’t take long for the trail they were following to bend, and then she lost sight of them. Her gaze fell, and Sakura found her hands fiddling with the horse’s mane as she stared glumly at the ground ahead of them as Elladan turned the opposite way – back towards Imladris. _Back towards the lecturing from the adult elves, and all the disapproving stares._

She had only wanted to rescue Madara, when no one else seemed to be doing a thing. _It wasn’t her fault that she’d had those dream-vision thingies. So it was only natural that she would be the one to try and chase after Madara. _The way she hadn’t done for Sasuke… and what had it brought her…

“Cheer up, little blossom,” Elladan spoke then, arms on either side of her, keeping her balanced atop his mount as the started on the ride back _home. _Sakura scowled. _Was it really home without the idiot she’d brought along with her? _“Glorfindel will rescue your friend from whatever peril he finds him in. There is a reason many of us look up to him in Imladris…”

Sakura grunted, hating herself in the next second as she found herself remembering all the grunts of her companion. _Madara had totally infected her, whether she liked it or not. _Personally, Sakura leant towards the latter.

Silently, she leant back against Elladan’s chest, relaxing ever so slightly seeing as they weren’t galloping back towards Imladris – instead, moving along at a comfortable speed. _She missed her chakra dearly. _But it wasn’t about to come back anytime soon. _And she had an idiot who needed rescuing. _It didn’t matter that there was an entire patrol of elves going after him. She needed to be there.

_She wasn’t supposed to be the one left behind yet again._

* * *

She was resigned to her fate by the time Elladan came to a stop to allow his horse a break. _How could she forget that adult elves could sleep while on the move? _Though admittedly it compromised awareness somewhat, as well as reaction time, so sleeping on beds was preferable for all of her kind. Only the horse and her little body really needed the rest.

But Sakura knew she could last a little longer on her feet yet. Besides, sleeping on the horse would probably allow for her to forget about the ache in her thighs for a few hours. So rather than stealing a nap, she sat in burrow of a nearby tree, listening to the sounds of the nature sleeping as she pulled up some of the grass in her frustration.

“Do not wander far,” Elladan warned, having spied her getting up to go and explore the place like the child she apparently was. She felt an odd pull in her gut, something which told her to duck into the bushes and get out of sight of the elder elf.

It wasn’t like she could get far enough so that Elladan wouldn’t be able to find her and drag her back, anyway. Huffing, she crouched down, listening to the sounds of the small stream gurgling over the rocks nearby. Wind rustled through the trees, concealing her quiet sigh as she glared at the grass like it had personally offended her.

_She had failed._

She was a failure.

She couldn’t rescue the one person left from her old world, instead forced to rely on everyone else to do the job. Nothing had changed. She was still weak, little Forehead girl who couldn’t do anything but cry and cry.

A tongue lapped at her cheek as if to cheer her up, and Sakura stiffened, falling on her rear as she spied the creature at her side. Intelligent grey eyes bore into her own even as she strangled the scream which wanted to escape her throat at the sight of the wolf in front of her. _Because it was nothing like the creatures which had hunted her and Madara… the creatures which had stolen her idiot away from the safety of Imladris with their lies which the gullible fool had listened to._

Sakura suspected gullible wasn’t a word usually associated with one Uchiha Madara.

_She didn’t care. In her mind it fit him to a t._

“He will not hurt you,” a voice spoke, and Sakura leapt into the air, eyes roving over the scenery around her, fear stealing through her as she realised there was nobody around her. Part of her wanted to run back to Elladan, back to safety, but a jolt of realisation flooded through her.

_She didn’t feel like she was in danger there. _Sakura blinked slowly, heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the large grey wolf which had just tried to comfort her. _It was nothing like the beasts which had tricked Madara and stolen him away._

“You wish to rescue your companion, do you not?” that same feminine voice rang out again, whispering in her ear, and Sakura could only watch as the wolf lay down in front of her, the large fluffy back easily accessible even to her small form. “He will help you do so.”

_That voice… _Sakura wracked her brains, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember where she had heard it before. But then she remembered it hadn’t been _her _who’d heard that beautiful voice. _Inner had. _In a green pasture, with a pretty black-haired lady who’d taught her how to sing trees into life. Memories surged then. Memories of that pretty black-haired lady introducing her to a man who had taken her on hunts through beautiful forests.

Names were on the tip of her tongue.

Rustling in the bushes had her little legs moving before she could think of those names belonging to the ones Inner had known so well. The ones Inner had learnt from. Her hands dug into the soft grey pelt. “Let’s go,” she said, clinging to the wolf’s back as best as she could as the wolf bounded away, taking her back in the direction Elladan had taken her from. _Towards Glorfindel and the rest of his patrol… _and onward. “To Gundabad we go,” she murmured, swallowing at the thought of their destination.

Her rescue mission wasn’t going to be easy.

* * *

There was no rest for the wicked.

Somehow she had managed a short nap on the wolf’s back as it slowed its pace temporarily, but it never stopped running. The stamina the creature had was boundless, and infinitely better than her own, but Sakura cared not for the ache in her thighs nor the way her legs wobbled when she finally reached her intended destination.

The beautiful forest had fallen away, revealing barren, burnt trees, a craggy landscape upon which a blackened fortress had seemingly been built – a blotch on the otherwise picturesque terrain. It stank of things foul, and Sakura found herself wrinkling her nose as the wolf crept closer and closer to the fortress she assumed to hold her friend.

Where the elves were, she had no idea. The only thing in mind was avoiding the attention of the disgustingly disfigured creatures below which stank of rotted flesh and unwashed bodies. If she was any closer, she might have actually thrown up from the stench. As it was, she just clung to the fur of her wolf, grateful the grey colouring of its coat blended in nicely with the grey rock of the mountains as they stealthily made their way through the territory of the horrible creatures and the terrifying uglier wolves.

Sakura held her breath as best she could, staying low as her wolf nimbly made its way to the nearest entrance, ducking into the shadows of the stairwell before it lay back down. Sucking in a sharp breath, grateful for the slightly cleaner air there, she realised she would be on her own from that point onward. _It wasn’t like she could stealthily make her way through that fortress with a gigantic wolf at her side. _

“And here we go,” Sakura whispered, petting the soft fur of the wolf once more before she let go of her guide there and ventured inside.


	20. Void Born

The hallways were dark, dank, and generally the most disgusting place Sakura had seen. She was fairly sure she could spy traces of dried, blackened blood smeared on the walls and floors at various intervals. Evidently the foul creatures which resided there didn’t invest in any sort of hygiene regime, and Sakura was only glad that clinging to the back of her wolf had covered her scent somewhat – otherwise she might have been forced to take drastic measures in order not to be found.

Cautiously, she crept forward, hesitantly peeking around the corners of the corridor, as well as keeping an eye on the various alcoves she could duck into in order to hide. Truthfully, she had absolutely no idea where she was going, but something was urging her onwards and upwards – a tugging in her gut. Her instincts. Sakura trusted those the most, though admittedly she didn’t have much else to go on.

The fortress was where Madara was, that was for certain, but she hadn’t been given any information on _where _inside the fortress her beloved idiot was being held. _Because surely by then he’d realised what a massive mistake he’d made and was trying to get back to her… _Sakura scowled at the memory of him leaving like the utter fool he was. But she’d get him back. She would bring him back and knock some sense into that thick skull of his. _Stupid Uchiha and their stupid stubbornness and single-mindedness._

Her footsteps were so quiet, partially due to her elven heritage, and partially because she was so tiny and light. Part of her was grateful for her small size – because it meant there were that many more places for her to hide – but the other part was still bitter for losing her chakra thanks to that new body of hers. _Still, _she reminded herself, diving into a nearby alcove at the sounds of more of those voices speaking in that foul tongue of theirs, _it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about that now._

Shrinking back into the shadows to hide herself further, Sakura froze as she bumped into something solid, warm, and vaguely leg-shaped. Stiffening, she spun around, stomach dropping like a boulder as she spied the golden hair and the unamused expression on the older elf’s face.

_So that was where Glorfindel had gotten to, _she mused, deliberately looking away as she spotted Elrohir joining him in his stern stare of disapproval. The same one which said they would be _discussing this in detail later. _Or, in other words, scolding her like the disobedient child she seemed to be. Sakura resisted the urge to stick her tongue out. _It wasn’t like she was actually a child. _

“You must stay close,” Glorfindel whispered, tone sharp and scolding as he snuck stealthily out from the cover, hurrying through the next set of corridors with alarming ease. “Tarry not! Your friend is close, and we must leave before daybreak.”

Sakura perked up at that, heart pounding as they continued walking through the fortress, ducking for cover whenever those ugly creatures appeared. It was a stealth operation, meaning they couldn’t be found, lest they wanted to alert the army stationed around the fortress. Minutes trickled by like hours, and Sakura found herself waiting with bated breath as she followed her usual golden-haired minder.

It felt like hours before they reached the topmost room of the fortress, the door creaking open loudly – a sound which made her wince as they hurried into the room, only to be met with the sight of Madara lying there in the very centre of it, seemingly asleep.

Sakura made to rush forwards, but the arm which came in front of her stopped her in her tracks. “These markings mean nothing good. There is foul stench to this, whispers of a ploy we do not wish to pass,” he remarked, befuddling Sakura as she stared around the room, brow furrowing as she spied the moon shining in through a gap in the roofing. It shone down, and Sakura felt the hum of a power at work before she disregarded Glorfindel’s warning, running through the foul letters written in blood as they began to burn a bright amber colouring.

Her body felt heavy, oddly sluggish as she reached the centre. _As she reached Madara. _Summoning the last vestiges of her strength, she lifted her idiot, shoving him out of the ring made by the glowing markings.

“Sakura!” Glorfindel hissed, worry painted across his face as she felt her knees buckled, and then all she knew was darkness as a wave of what felt like burning warmth crashed down on her.

* * *

Birdsong greeted her when she came around. All around her, grass grew – a bright, earthly green – trees towering over her. The scent of turned earth and bark bit at her nose, which wrinkled along with her brow as she tried to figure out exactly where she was. It looked awfully similar to the border between the forest and the meadow from Inner’s memories.

Frowning, Sakura climbed to her feet, looking around for any sign of civilisation. _For any sign of that pretty black-haired lady with eyes that shone like emeralds. _“Yavanna,” she mumbled, the name coming to her then, and Sakura found herself smiling. That was that lady’s name.

_One of the Valar. One of the Ainur._

Sighing, Sakura chewed on her lip. _What good did knowing that lady’s name do when she didn’t understand where exactly she was? _She didn’t know where she had ended up as a result of those foul-crafted runes.

Wind howled through the trees, bringing with it the scent of a bonfire, and the sounds of humming. Eyes narrowed, Sakura turned towards the sound. _Was there someone else there? _Emboldened by the prospect of company in the strange loneliness of the forest, she hurried towards the sound, twigs and leaves crunching under foot as she made her way towards the source of the humming. Leaves and branches scrapped over her skin as she charged through them, heart pounding as she broke out of the treeline.

The ground dropped away so suddenly, grass seeming to meet the bright blue sky on the lip, and it was on the cliffside that the figure sat.

Long pink hair swished back and forth in the breeze, the clothing she wore something of a mixture between her old world and of that worn by the elves in her new one. “So you’ve finally come,” the girl spoke, turning to face her then, spring green eyes meeting her matching ones as Sakura stared at the mirror image of herself.

_She knew her. _How could she not?

“Inner,” she mumbled, watching as Inner smiled and patted the cliffside next to her.

“Come. Sit,” she ordered, turning back to stare at the world below the cliffside – a world currently awash in a sea of amber flames which burnt at the trees down there. “We have some time to discuss things before I do what needs to be done.”

“Where are we?” Sakura asked, sitting down on the ledge, short legs dangling over the rocky cliffside.

Inner only chuckled. “Though the way you perceive me has changed, this is still your mind,” she explained. “You’re still unconscious in that filthy place, though I do believe that golden-haired elf who’s taken a liking to you is currently fretting over your unconscious body,” she remarked. “It’s funny how power calls to power. Even though your body is small, that which exists in the Unseen is anything but… though I suppose that’s partially my fault.”

Sighing, Sakura swung her feet back and forth. “Are you ever going to tell me who you are? _What _you are?” she enquired, feeling oddly tired as she heard the amber flames crackle and pop. “And why exactly my mind is currently on fire?”

Chuckling, Inner nodded. “I can explain all of that now… but it starts way back when… and my memories of that time have grown… fuzzy in places, particularly about the _hows _and the _whys _I ended up drifting through the space outside this world… the place known as the _Void._”

Sakura tilted her head, listening carefully as Inner spun her tale. “The Void?” she echoed, the familiarity of those words crashing into her. _What Tom Bombadil had called them. _Void-born.

“I had no form at that point… and I wound up finding your world through methods I know not.” Inner stared up at the sky, and Sakura blinked as she noticed the fact that there were stars out, despite it still being day. _But they were in her mind, _or so she supposed. Anything could be there. “I found myself needing a form to take in that unfamiliar world not wrought by Eru Ilúvatar, which is how I ended up latching onto your body. I believed it would be my form, and my form alone, but I was wrong there. It was your body, I was just a passenger inside it, and all I could do was watch as you grew – because as you grew, my own powers did as well. They spilled out to you in a form common to your world…”

“Which is how I got my mokuton,” Sakura mumbled, shoulders sinking at the realisation.

“Make no mistake though – that was yours. Our fëar have become entwined and tangled… It is why you and your friend were given the hröar of the firstborn… since they were the closest to that which I was once.”

Sakura frowned.

Inner only smiled. “A maia,” she said, tucking some of Sakura’s hair back behind her ear as Inner leant closer to her, resting her head on Sakura’s shoulder. “We cannot be killed, though we can be weakened and our powers limited… We do not require hröar usually. Not on this world, at least.”

“Why are you telling me all of this so soon?” Sakura asked, feeling oddly uneasy at how easily Inner was providing her with answers.

“Because we’re a special case,” Inner said, her smile almost painfully soft. “When my kind lose their physical form, we can usually reform… However, our fëar have become far too entangled. They have practically become one.”

“Why does that matter?”

Inner sighed, shoulders sinking. “Because what I need to do in order to push out the influence consuming our mind will destroy this form I have in here… it will destroy my consciousness, and given that our fëar can be regarded as one…”

Sakura blinked, chest feeling like ice as the meaning behind those words finally sunk in.

“My consciousness will not reform. It is as close to death as I believe one of my kind can get,” Inner said, still smiling even as she practically announced her death. “You would then be regarded as something akin to a half-maia I believe, and I would be entrusting all that I know unto you—”

“Why do you have to drive out that influence?” Sakura demanded, desperation slamming into her with the force of a kunai. “Can’t we just… reason with it or something?” she asked, glancing at those burning flames which seemed to be climbing higher and higher as time passed. _Or maybe that was just her imagination?_

“That influence,” Inner continued, heedless about her coming demise, “belongs to the greatest evil the world has ever known. There is no reasoning with it… and it is because it is so great that it will destroy my consciousness. The only reason I can drive it out in the first place is because of the fact that this is _home _territory, meaning I have the advantage of the playing field.”

Her hands shook, and silently Sakura cursed herself. Cursed her brashness which had led to that situation. “How did it even get here?”

“There’s a connection between you and the void – where that being resides – due to the circumstances of your incarnation here,” Inner said. “Though it would have been worse had you not pulled Madara out of the circle in time. He doesn’t have the same protection which my presence has granted you. He’s _empty, _compared to you.”

“So it’s my fault,” she mumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest as she shrank back away from the perilous drop in front of her. “If I hadn’t come—”

“If you hadn’t come, then those elves may not have reached your friend in time, and that evil would have gained a foothold in this world… which would have been a terrible outcome,” Inner said, sounding so terribly wise and old in that instant. _Something she would never probably be. _“Compared to that, my sacrifice is nothing.”

“But without you I wouldn’t be anything at all!” Sakura hissed, tears biting at the corners of her eyes. “I’d just be Forehead… a cry baby and a weakling…”

Inner laughed, and Sakura felt it stab at her chest. She hated that sound. The sound which sounded so cheerful in the face of death. “You were never weak,” she said, brushing away those tears before they could trickle down her cheeks. “Not in the ways it mattered.”

Her lip wobbled, hands curling into fists. “You’re just saying that!”

Inner sighed then. “How many times did that Ami girl push you down? How many times did everyone around you tell you a civilian-born shinobi would amount to nothing? How many times did you listen to them and feel hopeless?”

“Of course I listened to them!” Sakura yelled, fingernails biting into the skin of her hands, leaving pale white crescent indents there. “I always did.”

Inner smiled again, pushing herself to her own feet. “Did you give up on your dreams? Did you drop out of the academy and pursue a civilian life instead?” she asked, tilting her head enquiringly. “Did you stop being yourself because someone else told you to?”

“But you were there shouting encouragements… and I always cried…”

“So what if you cried? You’re the one who ultimately chose. You bore all that scepticism and derisiveness.” Inner grinned, hands reaching for Sakura’s shoulders. “You’re strong, Sakura,” she said, pressing her forehead against her own. “And it’s because of that strength I know you’ll weather and bear this grief that I will leave you with… you’ll weather it, bear it, and move on, because that’s what you do. You’re stubborn, and you always strive for something, whether it’s to become stronger physically or if you’re chasing after a boy you thought you might come to love in time…”

Sakura bit her lip, hating the tears which built in her eyes, the salty wetness blurring her vision as they stood there. Inner had always been her rock in times of strife. _The one person, the one voice, always in her corner._

“I hope in this new life you’ve earned, you’ll finally understand the truth about what it means to be truly strong,” Inner continued, eyes closed as her arms wrapped around to tangle in her shorter hair. “And if you ever see Lady Yavanna when you cross the seas and return home…” she trailed off, shaking her head ever so slightly. “You’ll like her, and she will no doubt enjoy your company too.”

She was lost for words for a few moments, dread, self-loathing, and horror all welling up inside her as she spoke to Inner for what she was slowly coming to realise would be the last time. “I don’t even know your name.”

Inner smiled sombrely, pulling back from her then. “If I had one, I’ve long since forgotten it,” she said. “Besides, the only one I remember is the only one which matters… You know, it’s been an honour to share the name Sakura with you.”

“Sakura.” Speaking her own name aloud felt weird.

“This is rather an odd thing to say… but I’m glad I ended up sharing your body with you,” she said, a smile still on her face, and Sakura felt her heart clench. _It was too soon. She had only really just gotten to know who, and what, Inner was… and now she was leaving forever… all because of her own decisions and mistakes._

“Don’t be stupid,” Sakura mumbled, voice warped by sorrow, tears streaming down her face – a waterfall Sakura wasn’t sure would ever stop. “I should be the one saying that.”

Inner laughed, grin brightening. “Farewell, Sakura.”

Sakura screwed her eyes shut, hands shaking as she lifted her head, eyes opening once more as she forced herself to look at her saviour. The one who had always been fighting in her corner, even if she had been too stupid to ever realise it before.

Her form was translucent then, and Sakura felt a fresh wave of tears streak down her face as she leapt forwards, hands scrabbling to latch onto _her_. The _other _Sakura. _Inner. _“Don’t go,” she whispered. “Don’t leave…”

Fading fingers only brushed at her cheeks. “Sorry,” she whispered, voice so painfully gentle. _So blameless for the person whose decisions had resulted in this situation. _

Fabric vanished from under her grip, hands clawing at nothing but empty air, and Sakura screamed. She screamed her own name. The only name Inner had claim to.

But the sound was lost on the sounds of the surging tidal wave of water which swept through the forest below, quenching the amber flames – driving them off, until Sakura could see nary a whisper of them. _Or Inner._

Inner was gone.

Sakura laughed, a humourless sound, fingers digging into the dirt as she fell to her knees, agony ripping through her at the loss. _Because it was all her fault. _Wind whistled then, and she could only blink as a blob of pale pink landed on the ground in front of her. Rubbing at her eyes, she frowned, dirty fingers reaching out to lift the pink petal. A gust of wind, that much more forceful than the one before, grabbed her attention, and Sakura turned then, blinking as she caught sight of the largest tree overshadowing her on the cliff’s edge.

A sakura tree.

Laughter rang out in the air, sounding strangely hollowed and weary. It took Sakura a few moments to realise it was her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you unfamiliar with Tolkien, or just generally unsure:
> 
> \- A lot of the lore/characters here are the kind more mentioned in earlier works of Tolkien's as far as I am aware, which is why those solely familiar with LOTR who haven't poured through all of the information on the LOTR Wiki and the Tolkien Gateway might be somewhat unfamiliar with, along with those of course, who aren't familiar with Tolkien's work.
> 
> \- I haven't found a lot regarding the description of Gundabad, hence the lack of description in the last few chapters, because I'm uncertain as to whether there's information regarding this. I went along the stereotypical 'dark fortress' route, because when it comes to Tolkien I try to stick to themes as much as possible.
> 
> \- Inner Sakura was a maia (maiar, plural) who studied under Lady Yavanna, Queen of Earth, hence why Sakura wound up with the mokuton in the Elemental Nations. Madara was just dragged along for the hell of it because Sakura grabbed a hold of him, hence why he was the 'empty' vessel, because he didn't have a maia inside his head.
> 
> \- Glorfindel is a reincarnated elf who is known for being a powerhouse in the Third Age, though admittedly we don't see a lot of him in Lord of the Rings. Reincarnation is normal for elves, so long as they return to the Halls of Mandos, but none bar Glorfindel have ever returned to Middle Earth (Arda) after being re-embodied in Aman.
> 
> \- Fëar and hröar are the quenya terms for soul and body respectively. Inner uses quenya terms because that's the primary language in the lands of Aman where she dwelt originally. Sindarin came about from the grey elves who never finished the journey to Aman (and didn't see the light of the two trees). Quenya was brought back to Arda with the 'Flight of the Noldor', and those of Noldorian heritage generally learn both Quenya and Sindarin.
> 
> Any more, and you probably ought to take a dive into the Wiki or the Gateway to understand things.


	21. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I meant to write two more chapters... but I reached the ending sooner than I anticipated... so... this is the epilogue.

Everything was hazy when she woke up.

Though Sakura soon realised it was thanks to the tears still spilling from her eyes. Dimly, she became aware of the rocking sensation, eyes sliding over to glance down at the white horse upon which she was seated. A familiar white horse. _Asfaloth. _Meaning… She turned her head, green meeting grey as she stared up into the conflicted gaze of her usual minder who looked torn between scolding her senseless and wrapping her in a comforting hug.

Sakura knew she probably looked terribly pitiful, given the state of her eyes and her stupidly small body. _Maybe if she’d been bigger she would have been able to save Madara and Inner both… maybe she wouldn’t have had to sacrifice one for the other. _A sniffle escaped her, and Sakura let herself slump against the warm body at her side. She felt exhausted, despite having just woken up, stomach rumbling – and for a good reason too, as she soon discovered, upon spying the elven dwelling they had left behind what seemed like years ago.

_When she left Inner had still been alive._

She hunched in on herself, glumly looking at the twinkling lights as they made their way closer and closer to their _home. _It should have been Inner’s home too, since she was the one who was really from that world. Fresh tears leaked down her cheeks like a broken faucet. Sakura wasn’t sure they would ever stop.

It wasn’t like when she had left the Elemental Nations. Everyone had still been alive there. Everyone would still be alive, especially with Madara in the new world with her. _Inner’s world. _She was gone for good, as she had told her so calmly about her upcoming demise. _All because of the choices she had made in her brash recklessness. All because she didn’t want to be left behind again. All because she hadn’t seen the friend she’d had fighting in her corner the entire time._

She still felt numb even after their arrival in Imladris, content to just sit in silence, letting the conversations of adults in mind and body flow over her head.

She was back in a familiar room, she realised eventually, a bowl of creamy soup in her hands as she ate listlessly. It didn’t taste of much, but she was hungry, so she ate until all she was left with was an empty bowl, and a quiet room. The silence was oddly nice.

_But Inner should have been there. Should have been a little presence in the back of her mind, occasionally chiming in with nuggets of wisdom._

_But Inner was dead. _

She was dead, and Sakura felt _so _numb. _Why wasn’t she crying like all the other times it hurt? _Or maybe she had just used up all her tears… Sighing, she flopped back on the bed, sounding so dull rather than simply fed up. She was fairly sure she was in Madara’s room – the one she had used previously no doubt having some forestry still growing through it.

“Sakura.”

Blinking, she turned slowly, tilting her head as she spotted Madara sitting a little ways away on the bed. _Why hadn’t she noticed him? _She could only wonder, watching blankly as he clambered over the sheets towards her, seating himself down beside her.

“I’m, well”—he looked away, pointed ears reddening—“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I’m sorry for leaving,” he grumbled, sounding terribly petulant. Sakura didn’t particularly care. _Inner was dead. _“I have come to the conclusion over the past few days that there’s no way for us to return… Not without the intervention of whatever sort of higher power brought us here.”

A strangled laugh escaped her. _If he’d figured it out sooner then she would never have had to—_

Sakura shook her head. _It was her choice. Not Madara’s. The fault – the blame – lay with her, and her alone. _“You know,” he continued, a nervous sort of scowl pulling at his lips. “I, uh, might be able to help comfort you if I knew what was wrong…”

Another snort escaped her. “You cannot comfort people to save your life,” she muttered, slumping into him, body feeling so heavy and tired. _Why did Inner think she’d be able to bear the grief she had left her with? _

“Try me.”

Sakura closed her eyes. _He was Madara. He was her idiot, the one she had saved while losing so much due to her own recklessness. _“I know why I have the mokuton,” she said, voice sounding so loud amidst the silence. “I had a voice in my head you see—”

“And you never questioned it?” he asked scathingly, glaring down at her.

_Just like before Inner had died. _He really did suck at comforting people. Sakura told him as much with her listless stare. “I thought that was ordinary… then I thought it was my subconscious telling me to stand up for myself… but it turns out she was someone from this world.” His arm came up to wrap around her shoulders. She didn’t shake it off. “A maia… they’re supposed to be immortal beings…”

Madara blinked. “Well clearly this one wasn’t.”

“Because our souls were too intertwined… since she needed a body in our old world… and when she saved me from the evil after you, her consciousness, her form in my mind was shattered… and it won’t ever reform,” Sakura mumbled, as if saying the words out loud would make them sink in. _As if saying them would get rid of the numbness creeping through her._

“I’m guessing this is the reason we were re-embodied here then,” he remarked, sounding terribly tired all of a sudden.

Sakura snuggled into his side, leeching comfort from the tiny, familiar form who was the last memento she really had of the Elemental Nations. _Even if he was a stupid imbecile who did idiotic things. _He was _her _idiot now. She had decided that way back when. _He was all she really had left what with Inner being dead and gone. _Her fingers dug into the shirt he wore, biting into his skin as she clung to him.

She had lost Inner. She wouldn’t lose him too.

_It was the one thing she wouldn’t be able to bear. _

Even if he was a tactless, grumpy, idiot.

“I suppose, seeing as we’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future,” he said finally, looking out towards the window which had been closed – and Sakura was fairly sure the elven equivalent of child safety locks had been put on it. “I can permit you to call me brother from now on.”

“You won’t leave me again, then?” she asked, voice far smaller than she would have liked, eyes narrowing as she heard the sounds of shifting feet outside the door.

“I won’t,” he promised, resting his chin atop her fluffy nest of hair, neither of them moving, even as evidently eavesdropping elves came into the room. It was comfortable like that.

Sakura blinked sleepily, exhaustion and weariness seeming to scrape at her bones as she sunk bonelessly into the warm embrace. _So familiar. So nice. So needed. _“Tired,” she mumbled. “Mattress?”

Laughter bubbled from Madara’s chest. Sakura thought it sounded a bit hollow.

“You should rest now then, little ones,” Glorfindel said, and then Sakura found herself being tucked in. _Just like a little child. _Though she could really be bothered to complain. She was too tired. Too hollow. Too grief-stricken. Somehow she figured Glorfindel could tell. _Maybe that was why they hadn’t started lecturing them both yet?_

Snuggling into Madara’s side, she closed her eyes, wanting to shut the world out for once, ignoring the featherlight touch which brushed away the tears which fell from behind her closed lids as she basked in the familiar _raging-inferno _warmth which had been with her there since the very beginning.

* * *

The sun rose, shining down on yet another day in Imladris, and Sakura peered at Madara through half-closed eyes as she woke. _It had only been a day since they had arrived back. _It felt like longer for some reason Sakura couldn’t place.

Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention onto their golden-haired minder, and Sakura sat up, stomach betraying her as she did so, much to Glorfindel’s amusement.

“Shall I bring your meal up?” he asked, grey eyes boring into her green ones with an emotion Sakura couldn’t quite grasp. “Or would you be willing to join us in the dining hall?”

“We’ll go,” Madara answered, and Sakura turned to face him, fear and annoyance written all over her face at his answer. _The one he’d said like he was speaking for both of them_. “Come on,” he said, nudging her out of bed. “It’s too stuffy in here, so hurry it up and get up.”

“I don’t want to,” she grumbled, not wanting to leave the safety of the room. _She just wanted to curl in her blankets and cry for hours on end._

“Tough,” he hissed, dragging her out from the covers with his annoyingly superior strength. _She’d get stronger than him eventually though… once she’d mastered the powers she had in that world. The powers Inner had left behind for her. _Tears bubbled up again, even as she was forced to stand in front of the door Glorfindel had already kindly opened. _Or maybe he was simply approving of Madara’s drive to drag her outside?_

She didn’t want to go. _How weak of her… _Sakura grimaced, reminded Inner wasn’t there to cheer her up or motivate her any longer. _It was all her fault. If she’d been stronger… _She looked at the doorway. _If going outside was a step to becoming stronger, then so be it. _Sakura gritted her teeth. _She wasn’t going to be weak again… because no matter what Inner said, she was still pitifully so. _Her shoulders slumped. _Though maybe she’d work out what Inner had meant by that… _She shook her head clearing those thoughts even as she felt the small tremble in her hands. _Fear._

“No matter what happens from now on,” Madara said, taking her hand in his own as they stared at the open doorway in front of them. “We’ll face things together.”

_Everything wasn’t alright. Not then. But in time, perhaps…_

“Together,” she echoed, squeezing his small hand.

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so... Final Notes:
> 
> Did Madara and Sakura get scolded?
> 
> Damned straight they did... well, after they were through their initial grief period, since grief can actually kill an elf, and they're baby elves in body, hence why they were wrapping them in bubblewrap and generally just taking more of a background role while the two work out the beginnings of their grief for themselves for this part and saving the seventy hour lecture of _'why it's a bad idea to run off with creatures of the enemy, and why it's a bad idea to chase after your friend whose run off with creatures of the enemy on your toddler-self lonesome'_ for later.
> 
> For those of you who wanted Madara/Sakura as a pairing...
> 
> Well, you can always imagine their relationship of 'siblings' changing over time, if that floats your boat. Either way, feel sorry for anybody who might start crushing on adult elf!Sakura... because they'll either have to deal with bigbrother!Madara or jealous!Madara, depending on what you envision.


End file.
